If things go wrong or if a team member receives a complaint about end of life care, it is important that there is a mechanism within your service to deal with this.
If a formal complaint has been made, you may be asked to respond. All services should ensure that action plans are put in place following investigation of a complaint. Check your local guidelines and policies for this.
If things go wrong and no formal complaint is received it is still important for your team to learn from this. Being open and honest with families and patients when issues arise is extremely important. Most people who make an informal complaint want some acknowledgement that their concern has been taken seriously or apology from staff. These issues can be discussed at mortality and morbidity meetings.
If an individual member of staff receives a complaint against them they should be supported by the organisation during the process which can be very stressful. Always refer to your local policy and procedures.
If end of life care does not go well, it is important to discuss and learn as a team in a non-threatening, no-blame environment. For example, see left.
Review feedback from families who have been through the end of life after stroke process. Include positive and negative comments to learn what your team does well and where you need to improve.
Case Review
At what point did thigs go wrong?
What could we do better?
Mortality and morbidity meetings:
Are there signs which you can look for to take action earlier?
Ask staff what they think can be improved?
Did the staff agree with the decisions made at the time?
Can lessons be learnt from a review of complaints?
Are there themes which keep repeating?
If so, what can be done within the team to address this?
How does your team deal with disagreement within the team – is there an environment where opinions can be shared and listened to?
Page last reviewed: 16 Jan 2023
