I never thought the day would come. I have decided to drop the complaint against the hospital trust. Today is the last day for writing to the Ombudsman and with me that is not a simple letter. I know it will take up all of my day. I like to be thorough so I know I would have made a proper job of it.
The truth is I doubt if it would make any difference. A few years ago I had the dubious honour of writing an entire complaints procedure for a group of special schools which I was the director of. We then had to be inspected by both the Department of Education and Science (as it then was) and the local authority. We passed with flying colours I am happy to say As a result of becoming intimate with complaints procedures I took more than a passing interest in their implementation. My conclusion, (forgive me if, on this occasion, I omit the evidence which would be extensive), was that complaints procedures are administered by hard nosed spin doctors who know exactly how to manipulate the situation to their advantage. The member of the public who thinks he's got them trembling at the knees has not begun to make an impression on them. I should know because I was one of them! In fairness to my own performance I certainly did care about the issue and I would deal with it thoroughly. In that sense the complainant would get what they were after. However, I would probably not expose my own staff to the mercy of a savage member of the public - so they would never know! Funny old world, don't you think?
Pierre
Tags: complaint hospital Ombudsman special schools local authority public care spin doctors funny
No comments:
Post a Comment