City Hospital
Dudley Road
Birmingham
B18 7QH
Tel: 0121 554 3801
11 December 2014
E-mail: Sherelle Folkes [
Dear Ms Folkes
Freedom of Information Act Request: patient feedback handling
In response to your Freedom of Information request concerning patient feedback, please find below answers to the questions you asked.
1. How are complaints, compliments and feedback handled at the Trust? This data might be obtained by means such as email, phone, letter, piece of paper in a hospital reception etc. etc. Is there a central place where this data is collated?
Complaints and feedback are managed by two areas of the Trust, PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) and the Complaints team. Expressions of dissatisfaction can come in via a Your Views Matter leaflet, our website, our complaints email address (swbh.complaints.nhs.net) over the phone on 0121 507 4346 or by writing to us at City Hospital, Dudley Road, Birmingham B18 7QH.
Compliments are managed with less structure, often coming in to the individual Wards and other areas where care is received. These compliments are captured and recorded via PALS and we do get some through the website, and on our Your Views Matter leaflet.
2. Does your Trust employ dedicated staff for this purpose? If so how many?
As detailed above, the Trust have a dedicated Complaints team who manage complaints that are investigated and responded to by Clinical Groups. For those complaints that are complex and run across several areas of the Trust, these are investigated and responded to centrally by one of two complaints managers within the complaints team. The PALS team are a centralised team that record concerns and immediate issues in need of remedy, and liaise with key hospital staff, patients and their advocates to ensure a swift resolution.
3. Is this data handled on site or is it subcontracted/held-off site?
Both these teams are employed by the Trust and are based at City Hospital, covering all Trust locations.
4. Are complaints and feedback collated and then reported to authorised people, such as the Trusts board or senior managers?
Complaints data is collated and reported in a number of differing formats. They are reported weekly to the Leadership team (CLE, Triumvirate, other Key Managers involved in investigating complaints). A quarterly report is also produced that covers complaints, concerns and compliments and this goes to the Patient Safety Committee and the Quarterly Board Meeting.
5. Who is in charge of complaints and feedback, if anyone?
Complaints is one of four departments reporting into the Director of Governance, Kam Dhami and the Head of PALS and Complaints is Karen Beechey.
6. Is there a standard procedure to follow if complaints and feedback data is obtained?
There is a complaints policy (attached) that covers the management of complaints.
7. What are the operational costs to the Trust for complaints and feedback, excluding redress (staff costs, computer and software costs, storage costs, legal costs, search costs, report compilation costs, maintenance and any other considerations)?
It is not possible to give a true and accurate cost for all of this question as some of these broader costs are shared across the Governance Team (Risk and Legal in particular) but the staffing costs for Financial year 2014/ 15 is £251k (Complaints and PALS)
8. Could you please supply your most recent annual complaint volume figures and the preceding 3 year volumes please?
Complaints total for last three years
For Financial year 2011-12 1089
For Financial year 2012-13 914
For Financial year 2013-14 915
For calendar year 2012 946
For calendar year 2013 938
For calendar year 2014 (to 8 December 2014) 874
9. Do you capture and measure concern data separately?
Concern data is captured separately to complaints on the same data base but under the PALS module rather than the complaints module.
I hope that this response answers your request, however please let me know if does not.
If you are unhappy with the Trust’s response you can appeal to:
Toby Lewis, Chief Executive
Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Management Centre
City Hospital
Dudley Road
Birmingham
B18 7QH
If you then remain dissatisfied, you have the right under section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act to apply to the Information Commissioner to seek resolution to the
matter.
Further details can be found on the website: http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
Yours sincerely
Simon Grainger-Lloyd
Trust Secretary and Freedom of Information Lead
Note
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust manages the following hospitals; City Hospital, the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre (BMEC, based on the City Hospital campus), the Birmingham Treatment Centre (BTC, based on the City Hospital campus) Rowley Regis Hospital and Sandwell General Hospital. Further information about the Trust is available on www.nhs.uk or the Trust website www.swbh.nhs.uk.
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