Local Resolution is Key to Resolving Complaints System

Dental Protection Limited (DPL) today re-confirmed its view that the effective resolution of complaints at a local level - ideally within the practice or other setting where the treatment took place - is a valuable learning tool and can and should be a means of improving the delivery of patient care, and ensuring patient safety.

DPL is uniquely placed to assess the effectiveness of complaints systems for dental health professionals, given that it has over 49,000 current members working in 70 countries around the world, including 70% of UK dentists.

Kevin Lewis, Dental Director said: "Dental Protection was already providing its members with practical guidance on setting up and operating successful in-house complaints procedures for many years prior to the previous major overhaul of the NHS Complaints Procedures in 1996. During that time the NHS has changed, the profession has changed, dentistry has changed and public expectation has certainly changed. It is timely that this opportunity is being grasped to reform the current NHS Complaints System.

Effective local resolution and a focus upon resolving the underlying dissatisfaction is the key, coupled with creating a top-down culture which seeks to learn from complaints in order to improve quality and safety.

While it is essential that a second stage of the complaints procedure is retained for those cases that are so serious or of such a high magnitude that local resolution can not reasonably be achieved, and for reasons of accountability, we feel strongly that complaints and their resolution must remain owned by the patients themselves (rather than by third parties), and with this in mind we support the principle of a range of options to consider in identifying the most appropriate route to achieving a resolution. These should be used flexibly and not mandated because the best complaints systems are fair to all parties, simple, responsive and transparent. We hope that the new procedures will be designed with this in mind."

Notes
The Department of Health consultation paper ‘Making Experiences Count' provides a set of proposals to unify and reform the current arrangements for making complaints across health and social care. As well as fulfilling the commitment in 'Our health, our care, our say', it proposes a radical new approach to complaints handling which is more flexible and supports organisational learning. It is available here.