Complaints in gynaecology in England: an effective learning tool.
The highest increase of 13.4% in complaints registered in hospital and community services in England, was observed in 2009-2010, since the beginning of data collection from 1997. We observed that complaints in gynaecology have remained a comparatively less explored area against its obstetric counterpart. We investigated the increasing trend observed in our gynaecology services of a district general hospital, over a period of 5 years. All complaints registered were subjected to a retrospective qualitative analysis and causes or contributory factors were classified in a standardised way, as followed by the National Health Services (NHS) Information Centre. Inappropriate communication was responsible for 38.6% of complaints lodged, followed by administrative or organisational errors accounting for 33.9% of complaints. A significant proportion of complainants had recorded more than three sequential events, which is recognised as a potential opportunity to prevent escalation of complaints.
Sexual and Reproductive Health, Liverpool Women's Hospital and Abacus Clinics for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Liverpool Community Health, Liverpool, UK. indhupraba@gmail.com
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Prabakar
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Samra
D004739:England; D006176:Gynecology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006767:Hospitals, District; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013222:State Medicine