NHS reaction to online patient feedback is changing

by James Munro

Health service staff are, perhaps understandably, cautious creatures and are taking their time in embracing the world of social media and online feedback.

But, looking at how the NHS has responded to public feedback on Patient Opinion over the past six years, we are starting to see some welcome changes in how both organisations and staff regard the online world.

The starting point is perhaps best illustrated by a reaction to one of our first postings back in 2005. Within a couple of hours the director of communications from the local NHS trust was on the phone, demanding to know what we thought we were doing. "This probably isn't legal, you know" he muttered darkly.

In those early days many NHS staff we spoke with saw the web in the same light as their local newspaper: probably out for a fight, best ignored for as long as possible. "We'll only respond to stories on the web if they're really serious" we were told, "and we'll never apologise, for legal reasons"...

You can read the rest of James' Artictle on the Guardian Healthcare network