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Putting Things Right
A consultation on how to change complaints and complimentsprocedures in mental healthCONTENTS11. Easy Read Summary 22. Background to this document63. The mental health context – service user experience64. The Government Policy context95. Recommendations to the Putting Things Right Project.10
5.1 Improvement to the compliments and complaints process
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Starting right
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Joint working
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Conflicts of Interest
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Recognition of achievement
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Problem solving and grievance protocols
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The benefits of listening
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Management of the resolution of problems and grievances
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Appeals
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Training and development
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Investigations of serious incidents
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Evaluation of the process of resolving problems and grievancesand NHS accountability
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Taking complaints to independent appeal or to the Ombudsman6)Getting things right first time – delivering a better service217) How could this be delivered in practice?26 8)Being heard – Getting a better service - Draft guidance for service users, carers and their families on putting things right,when the need arises 27
Appendices
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Consultation Questions39
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Who attended the workshop day40
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Comments from the consultation day under headings41
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Current support for clients, and useful contacts51
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The Mental Health Context – service user experience58
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Policy context, quotes from documents 63
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1) Easy Read Summary
(Available in large print on request)
1.1 What Happened
A group of people got together to talk about how to say ‘thank you’ whenthings go right in the health service and how to put things right whenthey go wrong.The people thought about what was different and special about mentalhealth, so that they could give ideas about what needs to be differentabout how things are put right.There was time for everybody to put forward their ideas. This booklet isabout their ideas.
1.2 The way things are in mental health
The first part of this paper describes what it is like to be a service user,carer or a member of the service user’s family.It talks about how helpful the service can be, how hard the staff work,and how caring they can be. It says how important it is to stay friendswith the staff.This part explains what happens to mental health service users, howpeople decide what to do, and how difficult it can be for service users tofeel that what they say will make any difference to their life.The paper talks about the extra danger mental health service users facefrom wanting to hurt or kill themselves. Staff, who work with serviceusers need to be careful to keep them safe.This part tells the readers that there is not enough help to go around for everybody who needs it. Not everyone can be kept safe when they arein danger.
1.3 The things the National Assembly Government saythey want to do.
This part tells you what the Assembly Government want to happen.They want to put mental health near the top of their list of things tospend time and money on and they want to make us feel better aboutthe care we get.
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1.4 Recommendations to the ‘Putting things right Project’1.4 a) Improvements to how problems are put right
This part talks about how things could be better. How to make it easier and safer, to say thank-you, or to complain. How to help service usersto feel that someone is listening to them. How to help service users feelthat someone understands why they are upset.
1.4 b) Making things easy
It says that the staff need to look for signs that the service user isunhappy with their care. They must explain that staff who don’t need toknow, will not be told about their worries about their care, and that badthings will not happen to their care, because they have told someonethat they are unhappy.
1.4 c) What is done, when, and who does it
This part talks about the need for problems to be solved quickly, andwithout fuss. It says that people need to know where to find help. Theservice user needs a bigger say in what happens after they tell someonethat something has gone wrong.Things need to be done very fast for people who may harm themselvesor commit suicide if their problem is not solved quickly. It says thatservice users need people to talk to them before, during and after aproblem is looked at.
1.4 d) Difficult situations
Things are more difficult when the service user is also a member of staff,or if they know someone very well, who is a member of the staff. It ismore difficult to solve problems when more than one service is involved,like the police and the health service. The health service is asked to findways to make things work better when these difficult things happen.
1.4 e) How people know what has happened
This part is about what staff need to do to show how they are workingwith people, so that someone else can later decide if they have donethings the best way.
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1.4 f) What happens to make things better
This is about what the staff need to say to the person who is upset.
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They need to apologise
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