Quick heads up: Australian law here, HIPPA does not apply.
So my department at work is the one that deals with patient complaints. For the record, MOST of the time, the complaints are reasonable and dealt with fairly quickly and easily. There's only been one complaint that neither of us have even dealt with as the patient in question wound up being banned shortly after. (We typically forward feedback onto the ward nursing manager and this particular incident, coupled with two incident reports in our incident database at the same time made us all realise who it was.)
From time to time, we will get notifications from the HCCC (healthcare complaints commission; basically somewhere of a cross between a consumer mediation body and the state medical board) that a former patient or relative has made a complaint against one of the doctors at our hospital and they want us to provide information to them to help with their investigation.
I get into work the other day and my boss calls myself and another CW over. Both my boss and coworker are nurses, I am not. He details the complaint to us and then tells me "I'm not going to show you the rest, I don't think you'll fully appreciate it."
The scope of the complaint was roughly that a former patient's wife was not pleased with the management of her partner's palliative care while they were here. The fact that they'd complained wasn't the problem. The problem however, was this:
- The partner thought that getting photos of not only her partner being resuscitated when they took a turn for the worse, but of the partner's dead body as well, was entirely appropriate instead of focusing on things like reassuring/comforting her child (who was apparently nearby).
- Partner then thought that sending said photos to the HCCC was entirely appropriate. (As I pointed out to my SO later, I could understand if it was of say, a wound or obvious signs of infection, but not a recently-deceased body!)
- Where it then gets worse, is that the HCCC thought that including the photos in their letter onto us was entirely appropriate!
I feel for the family, I really do. But for the love of all that is holy and sacred, just what on earth made them decide that sending photos of their deceased partner around was a good idea?!
So my department at work is the one that deals with patient complaints. For the record, MOST of the time, the complaints are reasonable and dealt with fairly quickly and easily. There's only been one complaint that neither of us have even dealt with as the patient in question wound up being banned shortly after. (We typically forward feedback onto the ward nursing manager and this particular incident, coupled with two incident reports in our incident database at the same time made us all realise who it was.)
From time to time, we will get notifications from the HCCC (healthcare complaints commission; basically somewhere of a cross between a consumer mediation body and the state medical board) that a former patient or relative has made a complaint against one of the doctors at our hospital and they want us to provide information to them to help with their investigation.
I get into work the other day and my boss calls myself and another CW over. Both my boss and coworker are nurses, I am not. He details the complaint to us and then tells me "I'm not going to show you the rest, I don't think you'll fully appreciate it."
The scope of the complaint was roughly that a former patient's wife was not pleased with the management of her partner's palliative care while they were here. The fact that they'd complained wasn't the problem. The problem however, was this:
- The partner thought that getting photos of not only her partner being resuscitated when they took a turn for the worse, but of the partner's dead body as well, was entirely appropriate instead of focusing on things like reassuring/comforting her child (who was apparently nearby).
- Partner then thought that sending said photos to the HCCC was entirely appropriate. (As I pointed out to my SO later, I could understand if it was of say, a wound or obvious signs of infection, but not a recently-deceased body!)
- Where it then gets worse, is that the HCCC thought that including the photos in their letter onto us was entirely appropriate!
I feel for the family, I really do. But for the love of all that is holy and sacred, just what on earth made them decide that sending photos of their deceased partner around was a good idea?!
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