Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2000/2001

notes. This is problematic where the family subsequently separates and one side may
subpoena the records for a court hearing.
STATUS OF COMPLAINTS LIAISON OFFICERS
In Victoria, there are over 150 complaints liaison officers (CLOs) who work in the
public and private hospitals and other larger medical practices. It is the responsibility
of these officers to deal with complaints at the local level so they might be resolved
quickly. These people receive support and training from the HSC and many have
attended for orientation days. Information technology support is also provided. Their
work is difficult and very important.
In the year under review a thesis for the degree of Masters of Public Health, Monash
University was completed by Kay Currie. This indicated that the status of CLOs in
some of our hospitals is poor. The best CLOs are those who receive good support
from management of their facilities. It is the experience of the HSC that the best
hospitals also have well trained and supported CLOs. Kay Currie’s research is
summarised below.
Mechanisms to resolve point of service complaints in acute public hospitals are
variable between as well as within organisations. Complaint processes are not
specified in legislation or by accompanying regulation; consequently, what
mechanisms there are, tend to reflect the underlying culture and philosophy of the
organisation. There may be a centralised system closely allied to quality or risk
management activities or alternatively, complaint handling may be disseminated
throughout the organisation, with prime responsibility resting with individual
supervisors and unit managers. The Health Services (Conciliation & Review) Act
1987 does state that where reasonable and appropriate, complaints should be resolved
directly with the service provider in the first instance. Additionally, the Act suggests
that complaints management should be associated with quality assurance (section 10f)
but is unclear on how this is to be achieved.
The aims of this study were to:
• Look at the different models of complaint management in acute care
metropolitan and regional public hospitals in Victoria.
• Profile CLO’s in terms of their background, training and structural position
within their organisations, and
• Determine the relationship between models of complaint management in acute
care metropolitan and regional public hospitals in Victoria and the number of
complaints received by that hospital.
There is only limited general research on the staff that handle complaints in acute
health care settings and little is known about their qualifications, skills or training in
Victoria. There has never been a statewide evaluation of the mechanisms applied in
point of service complaints management in acute public hospitals and therefore little
evidence on which to determine what might constitute a best practice model.
CLOs at metropolitan and regional acute care public hospitals were asked to complete
a survey questionnaire after Chief Executive Officers were informed about the study.
Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2000/2001 20