Redefining NHS Complaint Handling – The Real Challenge

Abstract

More and more organizations find that a constructive and open dialogue with their customers can be an effective strategy for building long‐term customer relations. In this context, it has been recognized that effective complaint/contact handling can make a significant contribution to organizations’ attempts to maximize customer satisfaction and loyalty. Within the NHS, an intellectual awareness exists that effective complaint/contact handling can contribute to making services more efficient and cost‐effective by developing customer‐oriented improvement initiatives. Recent efforts have focused on redefining NHS complaint‐handling procedures to make them more user‐friendly and effective for both NHS employees and customers. Discusses the challenges associated with opening up the NHS to customer feedback. Highlights potential weaknesses in the current approach and argues that the real challenge is for NHS managers to facilitate a culture change that moves the NHS away from a long‐established defensive complaint‐handling practice.