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I feel intimidated

Posted By Intimidated Patient

"I feel intimidated"

About: Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

(as the patient),

I made a complaint about the care I was receiving.

The centre manager promptly dealt with my concerns and things got better.

When I saw my consultant, they said that I lacked insight about how complaining would make my key worker feel, and that I seemed very angry, and that was a problem.

I was not angry, I complained because something was going wrong, I feel my complaint was justified, and the right changes were made.

Now I feel intimidated, and unable to stand up for myself if something else makes me feel uncomfortable. Healthcare workers are in a position of trust, and the often deal with vulnerable patients. In situations like mine the healthcare worker holds a fair amount of power being able to raise concerns without fear of judgement or it impacting future care, should be a patient's right.

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Responses

Response from Andrew Howorth, Head of Patient Experience, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 6 years ago
Andrew Howorth
Head of Patient Experience,
Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 05/07/2017 at 12:43
Published on Care Opinion at 16:25

I am so very sorry to read this posting, as it raises a very serious concern. What you have said you were told by your doctor directly contradicts the Trust position on Complaints. People should feel supported and enabled to make complaints if they believe that their care is poor. You should not be made to feel guilty or intimidated as a result of complaining. It was really good to hear that things had improved as a result of your complaint, and the position that you feel you are now in with your doctor is very disappointing. Please accept my apology for this. As a Trust we are open and transparent and want to learn from peoples experiences. It takes courage sometimes to challenge professionals, and to make a complaint. Well done and please do continue to speak out if things are not right.

If you want some support with this please contact our PALs team who are always willing to listen and support, their telephone number is 0800 052 5790

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Update posted by Intimidated Patient (the patient)

I have contacted PALs and explained that as a resulted I wanted to change care teams. They left it being dealt with by a named member of staff.

In the mean while my care-coordinator is still calling me.

I phoned PALs who said speak to this named member of staff, so I phoned and asked to speak to them. I was told this person was unavailable, so I asked who was responsible in their absence. The person I spoke to refused to tell me who was next in charge because "its not an emergency"

I think open and transparent is still a long way to go for some areas of your trust. Most of the time there is someone responsible for the running of the service and overseeing patient well being. In a culture of openness, staff should not be deciding who gets access to this person. Or they should be willing to signpost service users to an appropriate substitute.

Response from Andrew Howorth, Head of Patient Experience, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 6 years ago
Andrew Howorth
Head of Patient Experience,
Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 06/07/2017 at 14:05
Published on Care Opinion at 14:16

This again is very disappointing to hear. There is no reason not to give somebody the name and number of a staff member, that they can talk to, although sometimes teams do have to prioritise if there is an emergency going on.

I am sure that the PALS team will be doing all they can in the background, to help you achieve your request. Frustratingly these things don't happen over night, but if the process has begun I am sure you will hear more positive news very soon.

It must be frustrating to find that staff are not always available on the end of the phone, but again with changing shift patterns and staff having to cover a wider range of tasks it means that even with positive intentions the ideal is not always possible.

Please once again accept my apologies and keep in touch with the PALS team, I am certain they will do their best to support you.

With kind wishes

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