PROTESTING PATIENTS - A STUDY OF COMPLAINTS SUBMITTED TO A FAMILY HEALTH-SERVICE AUTHORITY

The issue of complaints is a topical one. It is of interest to the Gov ernment who espouses a consumerist philosophy and to health care consu mer groups who are keen to ensure that effective mechanisms for the re dress of grievances are in place. The complaints machinery is currentl y being reviewed and debated by interested parties and the main sugges tions for change are set out in this paper. It is suggested that the f actors which impede reform are professional self regulation, which . l imits lay involvement in the assessment of matters complained about, a nd the new managerialism which, through its emphasis on consumerism, h as the paradoxical effect of reinforcing the control of managers. If c omplaints procedures are to be reformed it is paramount that we have a n insight into what people complain about. To this end this paper pres ents an analysis of the letters of complaint submitted to one Family H ealth Service Authority in the early 1990s.