Investigating complaints to improve practice and develop policy.
OBJECTIVE
This paper aims to make use of patient complaints as a valuable source of information to enable improvements to the quality of health service delivery.


METHODS
Thematic analysis was used to analyse records of de-identified patient complaints made about medical or nursing staff or medical or nursing services between January 2006 and May 2008 in the Mount Isa Health Service District.


RESULTS
Three main themes were identified. These themes were labelled: "communication", "wait times" and "clinical". The latter related to specific concerns about the care provided to the patient or their relative. There were 101 complaints analysed. The majority (60 per cent) of complaints related to communication. Wait times for appointments (13 per cent), and clinical (28 per cent) were included in the remainder.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this research are not generalisable beyond the Health Service District within which the data were collected. However, the principle of systematically using complaints information to improve practice and develop policy can be applied within all health services.


CONCLUSIONS
Recommendations to develop policies and improve practice that will address the matters identified in the complaints are made. Changes to complaints data records to assist future research are suggested. The need to facilitate indigenous patients' contribution to suggestions for service delivery improvement is highlighted.


CONCLUSIONS
The paper contributes to research that makes use of patient complaints to produce higher standards of patient service delivery.
Parry
Julianne
J
Mount Isa Hospital, Mount Isa, Australia. julianne_parry@health.qld.gov.au
Hewage
Udul
U
D003625:Data Collection; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D011793:Queensland; D014850:Waiting Lists