Complaints

Policy

Any person has the right to complain about a health service under Right 10 of the The Code of Health and Disability Services 1996 (the Code). This includes patients, family/whānau, staff, or another health provider.

We take all complaints seriously and aim to resolve them fairly, quickly and efficiently. We encourage patients or staff to talk to us about any concerns directly, at an early stage. Any concern that can't be resolved easily and informally is treated as a complaint.

All complaints are managed by following our complaints procedure, which is compliant with the Code.

We train all staff members to understand their obligations under the Code, and how to respond to a complaint, during their induction and orientation.

See also Patient Rights.

We respond to complaints openly and in a transparent manner to ensure the patient is fully informed.

This includes:

• acknowledging the complaint within 5 working days.
• making a decision whether the complaint is justified, within 10 working days of acknowledging it.
• advising the complainant within 10 working days of acknowledging the complaint, whether more time is needed to investigate.
• communicating with the complainant about progress at least every 4 weeks.

We advise Pegasus Health of all serious complaints.

See also Open Disclosure and Clinical Governance.

Clinical governance

Complaints are discussed at practice meetings where appropriate, with identifying information kept confidential.

The complaints officer shares any significant complaints as part of clinical governance so we can identify whether changes to processes are needed, or if a quality initiative should be carried out.

Complaints officer

Who is your complaints officer? If you have more than one person in this role, tell us who they all are.

Our complaints officer manages all concerns or complaints received at our practice, unless there is a conflict of interest.

They:

• manage complaints in accordance with our practice's complaints procedure
• maintain privacy as appropriate for all parties involved in a complaint
• liaise with complainants sensitively and impartially to ensure they understand:
  • how the complaints process works
  • what the next steps are
  • what advocacy support is available.
• ensure all staff understand our complaints process.

Complaints register

We record all complaints in our complaints register, which is confidential and only accessible to designated staff.

When recording complaints, we ensure:

• details, dates, outcomes, and any resulting actions are documented
• personal details are kept private and only used where appropriate to address the complaint
• complaint details are only added to the patient record if they are relevant to the patient's ongoing care.

Staff involved in a complaint

All staff should fully cooperate in any investigation by the practice and/or the Health and Disability Services Commissioner | Te Toihau Hauora, Hauātanga. We encourage staff involved in a serious complaint to seek advice from their professional association.

We recognise that it can be distressing for staff members to be involved in a complaint, and encourage staff to see this as a positive process to help us learn and improve service quality. If needed, we ensure staff involved in a complaints investigation have access to appropriate support.

If a serious complaint has been made, it may be appropriate to suspend a staff member on full pay while an investigation takes place.

See also Disciplinary Process.

Complaints laid by one staff member against another are also investigated by following the complaints procedure.

Complaints Documents

You can use our complaints form or send us the one you use.

We can also link to any information you give patients about the complaints process.

• Complaints form