One of Australia’s largest medical defence organisations has called for an overhaul of the complaints system for patients, claiming it is causing for long delays and unnecessary anxiety for doctors.
The call comes after a three-year independent review of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, with a public report expected to be released next month.
The review, conducted by former director of WA Health Kim Snowball, will assess how the complaints scheme can be strengthened and identify new ways to strengthen the accountability of the national scheme.
Avant Mutual Group’s senior medical officer, Dr Penny Browne, said the existing complaints scheme was causing medical professionals unnecessary stress and should pay more attention to the health and wellbeing of the medical practitioner.
“I have supported ACT doctors who are extremely stressed by the process they have to go through and that stress is difficult to manage while the complaint continues,” she said.
Dr Browne, a GP who has supported doctors with complaints from patients for five years, said the process was often needlessly drawn out and led to anxiety and stress among the medical community.
“We can provide support and direct the doctors to further support, but ultimately it is the resolution of the complaints that solves the stress.
“An early resolution is also important for the complainant and I am in no way trying to say their needs should not be considered.
“Just putting the pen to the paper can be very stressful for the patient.”
Avant’s submission recommended an early triage system for quicker resolutions of complaints, more support for doctors, national standards for timeframes, and parity in response times.
“We urge regulators to formally recognise and to consider the impact of a prolonged investigation on the practitioner and to ensure that practitioners can access appropriate support at what is often a very stressful time,” the submission said.
“The adverse impact on public safety from unnecessarily stressed practitioners should not be underestimated.”
Dr Browne said there was a need for an early triage system to ensure complaints did not hang over doctors’ heads for months unnecessarily.
“At the moment, a low level complaint can sometimes take over a year to resolve while sometimes it can be done rather quickly.”
But Dr Browne stressed the improvement of the system should not make it harder for patients to lodge complaints about medical practitioners.
“It can be hard for the public to be aware of the range of complaints that are made about doctors, with some being low level and others having very serious clinical implications,” she said.
“Consumers are often confused by the process and need to be provided with more information and education about how the national scheme works.”