It helps to complain about health care
Wrong treatment, unsatisfactory contact, poor communication or quite simply difficulty in getting an appointment at a health centre or with a doctor?There are many reasons for patients to complain about health care.
”The complaints have been made because of lack of knowledge, lack of involvement or because the staff have quite simply not had enough time to carry out their duties”the Patient Board in Skåne
If you are not satisfied you can make a complaint to the Patient Board in Skåne. A new analysis shows what result the complaints have given rise to.
On the individual level it can be a question of whether or not you get a personal meeting, if you can see another doctor or if you can get help to be attended to elsewhere if waiting-times are too long.
But it can also be about clearing up misunderstandings, mistakes that have been made, changing wrong prescriptions, results of tests or costs.
Patient Board in Skåne
The Patient Board receives complaints about health care provided in Region Skåne, or by instances which have a contract with Region Skåne. They also receive complaints about some kinds of dental care and municipal health care.
From January 2019 till June 2021 the Patient Board has gone through 12,680 complaints. The purpose was to analyse changes and improvements the complaints can lead to.
In one-third of the complaints the Patient Board got in touch with the health provider concerned. About 1,000 interventions have been made.
The Patient Board gets more and more complaints from municipal care in Skåne. Most of the complaints can be dealt with by more education and a reminder of the routines to be followed.
Are you unhappy with health care? You can download a form from 1177.se
You can phone the patients' board at 077- 011 00 10 between 9 am and 12 noon.
Is something seriously wrong? You can make a complaint to the care provider where you have been treated. If that is of no help, you can turn to IVO, the Inspection for Treatment and Care.
On a more general level it can be a case of the care provider's doing something that has more bearing on the situation as a whole than for the particular patient.
It can be about letting staff know about regulations, laws and routines, discussing incidents at a staff meeting, introducing new routines, reorganisation or taking on more staff.
It can also be about additional training or analysis of incidents and reports in accordance with Lex Maria.
In its analysis the Patient Board writes:
”Many of the steps have been taken after complaints from patients. The complaints have been made because of lack of knowledge, lack of involvement or because the staff have quite simply not had enough time to carry out their duties”.
The analysis rounds off with:
”It is worth noting that not all of these measures at the individual level, which are all about the same thing, have been replaced by measures at a general level”.
Footnote: You can find more information about the Patient Board at: vardgivareiskane.se
Lex Maria
When a patient is the victim of a serious accident or illness as a result of medical care, this must be reported in accordance with Lex Maria. This is made clear in the law on Patient Safety.
Inspectionen för vård och omsorg, IVO (the instance for care surveillance) investigates the reports.
