Real Complaints 27.9.24
Feedback on the experience of making a complaint to the NHS is essential for effective service improvement. It is a KPI of the NHS Scotland Model Complaints Handling Procedure, but response rates to Complainant Surveys across NHS Boards in Scotland are very low (typically below 2%). Complainant feedback is also important for the evaluation of the Real Complaints training resources, so the Real Complaints team designed and delivered a co-design project with stakeholders from NHS Scotland to look for creative solutions to this complainant experience feedback dilemma.
We organised two co-design workshops which brought together complaints managers, PPI (Personal and Public Involvement) participants and academics. The first workshop discussed the challenges, constraints and priorities associated with trying to gather complainant experience feedback, and the second was focused on co-designing a solution.
The main findings from the first workshop were that the design, timing and mode of delivery of any survey were critical. Participants talked about the value of being able to provide feedback at different stages of the journey rather than simply at the end. There was agreement that distributing the survey at the same time as the final response letter does not work and is more likely to result in negative feedback, particularly since the final response letter is often the point at which complainants lose faith with the process. Participants discussed the need for the survey design to properly accommodate the priorities and concerns of complainants and for the communication accompanying the request for feedback to be positive, encouraging and to demonstrate that feedback is welcome, valued and acted upon.
Once we’d understood what some of the challenges and priorities were, we were able to work with patients and complaints staff to redesign the process of inviting feedback from complainants and to co-create a new survey tool.
We translated the insights from the first workshop into a prototype Complainant Experience Portal: a digital, online solution to facilitate personalised communication between complaint manager and complainant. This was demonstrated at the start of the second workshop and received very positive feedback. Participants also co-designed a new set of priority survey questions associated with different stages of a complaint journey. These were then developed into a set of three questionnaires to be issued after initial contact with the complainant, interim contact and after the final response letter.
The co-design process was incredibly valuable for gaining a variety of knowledgeable and experienced perspectives on the challenges of gaining feedback on the complaints process. What was encouraging was the common ground that emerged between service providers and complainants — all stakeholders are invested in making the complaints experience better!
