Dorothy Armstrong's thoughts on apology generated a real buzz at our recent Glasgow event.  We're delighted that she's agreed to write this blog.

‘We are all human – we can all make mistakes.’

This quote is from a man whose son died. He brought his complaint to the Ombudsman, he said, to ensure that he was listened to, lessons were learned and to receive an apology.

In my role as Professional Adviser to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), I hear first hand from patients, relatives and carers about negative experiences of healthcare. The most common emotion expressed is of vulnerability, helplessness and humiliation.

When I read the stories shared on Patient Opinion, the themes are very similar to our experience at the SPSO. We see poor communication, behaviour and attitude as the most significant factors in the complaints we receive. In many cases, people feel that they have not been listened to. They feel patronised and powerless. If only staff involved in a mistake or wrong doing, had been honest and open and provided an apology at the time, they would not have continued to complain.

‘An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything.’ 

New South Wales Ombudsman, (2009).

As children, we are programmed to say sorry for our mistakes, but, in our working lives as adults, saying sorry is a real challenge. When used well in the NHS setting, an apology can be both very powerful for the patient and empowering for staff.

Sorry made easy - The 3 R’s

You can use this tool at work and at home. I’ve found it particularly effective with my teenage children – take a deep breath and try it too!

Regret

It is important to recognise that something has gone wrong by acknowledging the wrong doing, even if you are not at fault. Saying sorry, in a meaningful and sincere manner, is crucial. Often this first step is enough to de-escalate the situation.

Reason

Even if you feel criticised and hurt, it’s really important to provide a reason (if there is one) for the mistake, but to avoid being defensive. Make sure you are clear that the wrong doing was not intentional or personal, so try to keep to the facts. It can help to put yourself in the complainant’s shoes and step back from the situation. Stay objective.

Remedy

Try to resolve the mistake there and then, if you can. Ask the complainant what they would like to happen and take responsibility to investigate, if required, and to provide feedback to them as soon as is practicable. Encourage colleagues to be proactive too.

Dr Dorothy Armstrong is Professional Adviser to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

The SPSO’s Guidance on Apology sets out what an apology is and what you can do to make it meaningful.

I have just personally reviewed every opinion posted about NHS Highland on the Patient Opinion website. And when I say personally, I mean personally!  Patient Opinion is one new approach we are taking to encourage patients to feed back.  It forms part of our overall approach to capturing patient experience.  At a time when resouces are tighter than ever some may be tempted to reduce the time they spend on the so called "softer" elements of patient care.  But in my view it's more important than ever that we listen to our patients.

I am delighted that staff are taking it so seriously.  In response to one of our recent stories a Head of Service commented, "Thanks for sharing this with me too.  It's always good to get feedback and it helps us to make improvements that make a difference to patients.  it was great to see lots of staff being appreciated not just the Consultant!"

A patient who raised an issue on Patient Opinion about prescriptions alerted us to a problem that we have now fixed.  And having carried out a wider review we have been able to bring about improvements across Highland.

Ultimately we want to get to a position where giving and receiving feedback is as natural as saying please and thank you.  

Online tools like Patient Opinion will help us to listen, respond and improve.  I commend it to you.

Elaine Mead, Chief Executive, NHS Highland

I have just had my first experience of the NHS Scotland Event - it was a surprising couple of days!  With a load of NHS Scotland bigwigs in the same auditorium I expected to hear about the 'challenging financial climate', that we should 'do more with less', and the key would be 'improvement', 'measurement', 'productivity'...and I wasn't disappointed: they were all there with bells on!

However, 'compassion', 'care', and 'empathy' also featured prominently, perhaps even more so - what a relief!  Were there even lessons to be learned from the Disney Corporation?  Will we ever call patients 'guests'?

It shouldn't be so surprising but it was reassuring that senior health service staff and government officials are placing these fundamental values front and centre.  As so many Patient Opinion stories, convey, the absence of these values can make the difference between a good experience and a bad one, aside from any clinical intervention.

I came away remembering a quote from the film, 'Patch Adams', "treat the disease, you'll win some, you'll lose some.  Treat the person, you'll always win."

It's a great sentiment; it's been around a few years now!  However, not sure if it can quite compete with the Acting Director of NHS Scotland quoting Lady Gaga!  Apparently, the NHS is Scotland is "on the Edge of Glory"?  How exciting!

The Golden Jubilee National Hospital are on board and listening with Patient Opinion and already getting some positive feedback

One patient who told their story of care at the hospital was obviously delighted to get a thankful and personal response.   On receiving the response the patient replied "it really does re-store faith that you and your team are dedicated to improving"

Great feedback to be able to give your team of hardworking staff on a dreich Monday morning!

Welcome to Patient Opinion, Golden Jubilee!

 Here at Patient Opinion we often feature in not only the national / local press but also in the online press. Press coverage is vital to assist us with getting our message across and  ensuring enough people know about us to join the conversation about standards of health care.

We are planning to expand our press coverage / reach over the coming months and hope that you will notice our increased profile. Part of our planned press expansion is to feature regularly in the excellent local press here in Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster. We recently featured in the Sheffield Star (June 2nd) who covered our expansion into Scotland as part of the Better Together Pilot Scheme for NHS Scotland.

Since the publication of our report "In their own words" we have featured on the Radio 4 programme You & Yours, Talksports Matt Horde show, the Daily Mail, The Guardian and the Sunday Mirror. Watch out for us appearing in the national media very soon.

Further information on some of the coverage we have received is detailed on our website. Should you wish to feature anything from our site or have any other media requests then please familiarise yourself with our press policy visit here>>>> first and then contact our media officer Kate Ebbutt for further information.