Gisborne Hospital Report - Health and Disability Commissioner

Gisborne Hospital 1999 – 2000
Incident Reporting and Complaints Procedure
7.24 The Clinical Board should be given responsibility for monitoring the
implementation of action plans designed to address organisational trends
identified in clinical incidents.
7.25 Each area should receive regular (eg, monthly) reports on incidents occurring
in their area (including trends); such reports should be discussed at a staff
meeting and action plans implemented as appropriate.
7.26 Clinical leaders and line managers should monitor repeated incidents
involving the same individual.
Notification
7.27 A clear statement should be made to staff at all levels describing types of
incident that require immediate notification to the line manager.
Follow-up
7.28 The recommendations in the Medical Practitioners Quality Assurance
Activity: Tairawhiti Notice 1998 related to incidents should be implemented
consistently.
7.29 The findings of the Health Funding Authority audit (31 August 1999) should
be reviewed to identify any outstanding areas still to be addressed.
Complaints handling
7.30 Complaints offer a provider organisation the opportunity to understand the
needs of the consumer and in so doing to enhance the level of service, trust
and connection between the organisation and its community. This is
especially true for public hospitals. Wherever possible, complaints should be
resolved face-to-face, and followed up by letter.
7.31 The complaints system at Tairawhiti District Health will be enhanced by an
effective and fully operational database.
7.32 There is a need to link complaints data to risk management processes and
educational processes at Tairawhiti District Health.
7.33 If Group Managers and Service Managers are to be responsible for managing
the complaints in their areas, there is also a need to train them in conflict
resolution and the management of complaints.
7.34 As an alternative to recommendation 7.33, the Quality Co-ordinator, as the
person at Tairawhiti District Health with overall responsibility for managing
complaints, needs to be adequately resourced.
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