Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
GPs could avoid as many as three quarters of official complaints from patients by offering an apology, a survey of the public has suggested.
Three in four (76%) people said they would be unlikely to make a complaint if their GP apologised after an adverse incident, according to a YouGov poll of 2,000 patients commissioned by medico-legal organisation Medical Protection.
A concurrent survey of more than 120 GPs found that 86% believe that saying sorry can stop a complaint from escalating, with 82% saying an apology can help restore a good doctor/patient relationship.
Medical Protection added that an appropriate apology does not amount to an admission of liability, and GPs should not fear this could put them at greater risk or make a complaint more difficult to challenge.
A previous poll conducted by Medical Protection suggested that two thirds (67%) of GPs are fearful of being sued by patients.
http://www.gponline.com/gp-apology-prevent-three-quarters-complaints-patients/article/1419252
Three in four (76%) people said they would be unlikely to make a complaint if their GP apologised after an adverse incident, according to a YouGov poll of 2,000 patients commissioned by medico-legal organisation Medical Protection.
A concurrent survey of more than 120 GPs found that 86% believe that saying sorry can stop a complaint from escalating, with 82% saying an apology can help restore a good doctor/patient relationship.
Medical Protection added that an appropriate apology does not amount to an admission of liability, and GPs should not fear this could put them at greater risk or make a complaint more difficult to challenge.
A previous poll conducted by Medical Protection suggested that two thirds (67%) of GPs are fearful of being sued by patients.
http://www.gponline.com/gp-apology-prevent-three-quarters-complaints-patients/article/1419252