One of the most important things to remember when you are writing your response is that you are not only writing to the person who submitted the story - you are also speaking to the broader public.
Communication is a strong contributor to the vast majority of stories that suggest improvement is needed. The Care Opinion platform gives you a unique opportunity to achieve 2 goals in 1 go - inform, educate and (where necessary) correct the storyteller and share important information with the community you serve.
Helpful tip: ask staff what they believe it would help consumers to know and share this in your response.
Correcting misinformation, supporting staff and addressing expectations
Misunderstandings, miscommunications and misperceptions happen. Try to see this as an opportunity strengthen community understanding of your service, staff and the care they provide. Here are some example of how to gently correct information, support staff and address consumer expectations.
Nurses station noise (Crit 2)
Non private citizens (Crit 2)
Explaining an internal process and/or providing clinical information
Where possible, use the opportunity to inform and educate the storyteller. For example:
- Explain what the usual process is and/or what ideally occurs in a ‘normal’ situation/appointment / clinical presentation.
- If the situation arises due to a particular policy, explain that policy and the rationale for it (e.g. visitor restrictions/waiting lists/triage).
Chemo card (Crit 1)
Attendance for broken elbow II (Crit 2)
Blood in stools (Crit 3)
Medical imaging patient care (Crit 3)
Prescribed timeframes & hospital policies (Crit 3)
Neurosurgery wait time (Crit 3)
My toddler's rash (Crit 4)
Medical discrimination, dangerous prescribing (Crit 4)
Providing pathways forward
There are times when story content makes it clear that it would be good for the storyteller and/or patient's wellbeing if they were to access other services. These might include going to a GP, a support or community service.
Signposting can play an important role in looking at an experience holistically, seeing 'the person' behind the feedback and looking at feedback through a person-centred lens.
My child's mental health journey (Crit 4)