Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1. Number of complaints per year
Tables
Medium, n (%) Complainant, n (%) Aimed at, n (%) a Sex, n (%) Age, years, n (%) Email or letter, 362 (75) Patient, 198 (41) GP, 389 (80) Female, 259 (56) 0–18, 104 (31) Telephone, 116 (24) Parent, 147 (30) Assistant, 90 (19) Male, 206 (44) 19–64, 150 (45) Face to face, 6 (1) Partner, 63 (13) Organisation, 49 (10) Missing, 19 (4) ≥65, 77 (23) Child, 54 (11) Resident, 6 (1) Missing, 153 (32) Other, 22 (5) Total, 484 (100) Total, 484 (100) Total, 484 (100) Total, 484 (100) Total, 484 (100) aSome complaints were aimed at more than one person.
Sensitising concept Theme n (%) Exemplary quotations (complaint identifier) Medical expertise Missed diagnosis 177 (21) 'Eventually, the toe turned out to be broken after all.' (1120) 'Because of persistent complaints, my own doctor later referred me to the cardiologist, who diagnosed myocardial infarction.' (1003) 'The following day, my appendix was found to be inflamed and I had to have an operation immediately.' (1431) Medical expertise Insufficient medical examination 99 (12) 'He only felt with two fingers whether there was a temperature difference. Furthermore, he didn’t perform any physical examination.' (1739) 'I was briefly examined and then dismissed.' (1853) Medical expertise Poor or unsuccessful clinical treatment 71 (9) 'However, placing the catheter had no effect.' (1427) 'The anaesthetics did not go smoothly; the anaesthetic fluid came out through the wound and did not work.' (1808) Managing Long waiting time for care 55 (7) 'After three hours, there was still no doctor and the pain became unbearable for my wife.' (1006) Managing Refusal to visit or consult 47 (6) 'A doctor can never make a diagnosis over the phone! After repeatedly emphasising that it was really impossible to come to the clinic, the doctor even started a discussion.' (1202) 'We had to wait over an hour in the waiting room.' (1868) Medical expertise Outdated, wrong, or absent advice 29 (3) 'Further advice was not given, so a restful sleep was not an option.' (0944) 'When asked by my own doctor, this advice turned out to be incorrect.' (1739) Managing Finance and billing 17 (2) 'She received no advice during the phone call, on the contrary, the call was broken off for no reason at all. Because of this, we are unpleasantly surprised to have to pay an amount of 25 euros and request a remission of the amount.' (1823) Communication Not called back 5 (1) 'My brother was then informed that he would be called back by the doctor within 10 minutes about the situation. However, he has not been called back at all!' (1701) Themes Explanatory quote Not taken seriously 'I am really angry that my complaint was not taken seriously.' (1130)'I am very angry that I was not taken seriously and have been dismissed as a hysterical person.' (0913)'Then, the doctor said: "and what was the urgent problem again?"' (1108)'What are you doing here? You have only had troubles for a few days now, and the OOH GP is only for emergency care.' (1452)'The doctor cannot find anything wrong and said: "You just have a cry-baby."' (1136) Patronised 'Then, we were told that we were absolutely not allowed to consult the OOH GP for these complaints.' (0919) Spoken to unpleasantly 'The doctor did not answer my questions, but barked at me.' (1008) Inappropriate comment 'This comment was extremely out of place at that time.' (1305) Lack of empathy 'She examined her with a total lack of empathy.' (1105) Rushed 'I got the feeling that she was in a great hurry.' (1311) No introduction 'The doctor did not introduce himself.' (1754) Not shaking hands 'He did not shake my hand upon entering.' (1106) Arrogant 'The doctor’s attitude was arrogant and disrespectful.' (1413) Uninterested 'The doctor was sleepy, inattentive, and uninterested.' (1763) Physical harshness 'The doctor was very hard-handed.' (0901) Unwanted intimacy 'My daughter felt she was touched in an unpleasant way.' (1435)
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Patient complaints in general practice seen through the lens of professionalism: a retrospective observational study
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