Research and data from Medical Protection’s cases shows that perceived poor communication is a key factor fuelling patient dissatisfaction and can be instrumental in patients’ decisions to sue their doctor or lodge a complaint.
Just like any profession that involves dealing with the public, working in healthcare can mean working with challenging individuals. We each react differently to challenging interactions with patients – sometimes these reactions are effective; sometimes they are not. It is important that GP locums and practice staff develop communication skills to enable you to consciously choose how you would like to respond to these challenges in order to bring about a more favourable outcome for the practice and patients.
The majority of complaints and claims are not always related to the clinical quality of care a patient has received at the practice, but are triggered by inadequate communication. A relationship breakdown often occurs before the incident that leads to a complaint.
