Search

Objective This paper explores how hospital complaints managers react to recommendations for systemic quality reforms by health complaints commissions in response to complaints by patients in Queensland and New South Wales. Methods Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with complaints managers in 17 hospitals. Interview transcripts were then thematically analysed and data on responses to health complaint commissions was organised in relation to Valerie Braithwaite’s typology of motivational postures. Results Respondents supported involvement by an independent authority where patients had serious complaints about the services they received in hospital, but wanted more negotiation with commissions on service improvement recommendations. Conclusions Hospital complaints managers mostly responded as virtuous or rational actors to the symbolic power of complaints commissions. This may be context dependent because Australian health commissions operate within a pro-reform context as a result of recent publicity around health system failures. What is known about the topic? Little is known about regulatory relationships between complaints commissions and hospitals. There has been no Australian research considering how complaints managers respond to commission recommendations for quality improvements and reforms to hospital services. What does the paper add? The paper uses a novel theoretical framework based on regulatory theory to understand and describe the reactions of complaints managers to commission recommendations. What are the implications for practitioners? Commissions should seek commentary from complaints managers through open dialogue before making final recommendations. This will ease the progress of reforms and make recommendations more acceptable and ‘genuine’ in the specific context of the hospital.

The objective of this study is to examine current activities, barriers, and capacity needs for the assessment and management of smoking, nutrition, alcohol and physical activity behavioural risk factors in rural and urban general practices. A cross-sectional survey of 287 general practitioners (GPs) was conducted in a rural and urban Division of General Practice in NSW. A total of 146 GPs responded yielding Divisional response rates of 51% rural and 61% urban. For each of the SNAP risk factors, between 37% and 46% of GPs report using guidelines. Verbal advice is given "very often" for smoking by 68% of GPs, for nutrition and alcohol by 48%, and physical activity by 60%. Guideline use is associated with increased frequency of advising patients. Patient compliance is the most frequently reported barrier to giving advice, especially for smoking and alcohol. GPs report that they "often" or "very often" refer patients due to nutritional risk factors (48%), with lower referral rates reported for physical activity and alcohol risk factors (28% and 27% respectively). Only 10% refer patients "often" or "very often" for smoking management, and referral for smoking management and physical activity increase as a result of training in these areas. There is considerable variability in smoking, nutrition, alcohol and physical activity risk factor intervention and management in the general practice setting. A range of strategies is required to improve the systematic management of risk factors including training, use of guidelines, referral networks, and patient education.