TY - JOUR T1 - Handling complaints: harnessing feedback to improve services JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 483 LP - 483 DO - 10.3399/bjgp18X699185 VL - 68 IS - 675 AU - Rob Behrens, CBE Y1 - 2018/10/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/68/675/483.abstract N2 - Our 3-year corporate strategy,1 published earlier this year, sets out our ambition to increase our partnership work with health professionals, including GPs, to improve NHS services, especially frontline complaint handling. When things go wrong we support NHS organisations to learn from mistakes. Good complaint handling is not about blame and ‘pointing the finger’, but rather learning how to enable those working in the NHS to provide the very best service possible.Complaints are a valuable source of feedback that can be used to evaluate the service your practice is providing. Handling them well not only shows patients that you are listening, but also allows you to recognise where standards are not being met.The importance NHS staff place on good patient experience and continuous improvement is admirable, and they should be commended more often than they are for their dedication to helping patients. Encouraging patients to speak up when things have gone wrong can prevent problems from escalating, save money by … ER -