Our staff - Leicestershire and Rutland

ComplaintsBetween October 2006 and March 2007, we received 142complaints. Of these 55 were about PCT services and 87 wereabout doctors, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists.Of the complaints about PCT services, 12 were about the serviceprovided when doctors’ surgeries are closed. Eight complaintswere received about access to speech and language therapy.Of the complaints about doctors, over a quarter were about theunhelpful attitude of staff. Other main areas of complaint wereabout diagnosis & treatment and appointment systems (13complaints).Of the 11 complaints made about dentists, 4 were about thequality of dental healthcare. In response to these complaints, wehave introduced a process whereby a patient can be examined bya dental referral officer who reports their findings to the PCT.Patient Advice and Liaison ServiceOur Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) has continuedto support our patients and our public with issues relatingto the health service. Throughout the last year they dealtwith 1,853 enquiries.The team will be working throughout 2007-2008 on developingour patient and public involvement strategy to ensure that welisten to, and act on, what patients tell us about our service.PCTGPLeicester West PCT1 April - 30 Sept 2006Eastern Leicester PCT1 April - 30 Sept 2006OptometristsDentistsPALS are based at St Peters HealthCentre and can be contacted on0116 295 7011 or by email,PALS@leicestercitypct.nhs.uk.All enquiries are confidential.District nurses delivering qualityAn investment of nearly £300,000 has meant that district nursingteams can now work with GPs to identify people with chronicillnesses who would benefit from home visits to help themmanage their condition.Supporting people in their own homes means that they are lesslikely to be admitted unnecessarily to hospital. This is transformingthe care of housebound people with chronic illnesses.Teresa Smith, Head of Adult Services, explains "Our aim is to manageour patients who have chronic illnesses using the skills and experienceof our district nursing teams."Historically, many district nurses have looked after patients withleg ulcers or a skin tear, for example. The focus of care has beento heal the wound, and once healed, the patient would be discharged."This is now changed. We are looking after people for longer,helping them to manage their chronic illness."This is just one example of how quality healthcare services arebeing developed in the community so that people don’t have togo to hospital unnecessarily.Additionalinvestment plannedfor the financial year2007-2008Doctors, pharmacists,optometrists and dentists£4.8mMental health andlearning disabilities£7mAmbulance services£1mHospital services£6.3mCommunity-based services£2.8mwww.leicestercitypct.nhs.uk 11