Amazing public response to healthcare consultation
A few weeks ago I launched a consultation on proposals to change feedback and complaint handling in NHS/Care
It’s a radical approach for Staffordshire that has caught the imagination with over 2300 responses received so far from Staffordshire people. The changes I want to see are simple…
Complaints about health and social care services being handled by an independent people led body rather than the Trust or organisation being complained about if initial efforts to resolve an issue fail.
A single ’gateway’ for the whole of Staffordshire with easy and clear access where people can complain or offer feedback on services for any part of the NHS, health and care sector rather than having to find their way through the dozens of different systems of the many different healthcare bodies.
Collating all feedback, complaints, soft and hard data and information in one place instead of the fragmented way it is held in so many different places currently. That would provide a fuller, holistic picture of the ‘whole system’ rather than snapshots of bits.
It would also help as an early warning of quality or service failure because half a dozen issues which are currently viewed in isolation could be connected, potentially signalling sytemic failure and bigger concerns.
Simple but effective, I believe, and I also think it would bring a greater transparency to public services and hopefully improve public understanding, interaction and confidence in them.
It seems that the vast majority of people giving their views agree with those principles with solid support for the development of Engaging Communities Staffordshire (ECS). There is more information on ECS here and you can respond online to the public consultation until mid January here or hard copy here.
In addition, I will be hosting three public events early in the new year to hear views and answer questions:
- 9th January, 6pm start Cannock, Venue: The Ballroom, Cannock District Council, Beecroft Road, Cannock. WS12 9SA
- 10th January, 2pm start, Lichfield, Venue: King Edward V1 School, Upper St John Street, Lichfield WS14 9EE
- 11th January, 6pm start, Stafford, Venue: The David Jones Centre, 96a Stone Road, Stafford ST16 2RS
It is important to book places in advance and advise if you have any special requirements. You can call 01785 277502 to book your place or e-mail: healthandsocialcareconsultation@staffordshire.gov.uk
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2 comments
This is a tremendous suggestion and I do hope you get it through. A big issue is the independence of complaint management in the NHS. As someone who has been around the NHS for some time because of my wife’s health I can tell you they are a law to themselves. Having some independence would make life so much easier. I fully support this and have filled in a form to say so
My wife has had a difficult time in hospital. I suggest more effort is put to dealing with the issues as they happen rather than afterwards. But this appears a good solution as we didn’t feel we could make comment on the quality of service we received which was a shame.
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