Health practitioner experience of Health and Disability Commissioner investigations
Jill Wilkinson 1 2 , Chris Marshall 1
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
1 The Diana Unwin Chair in Restorative Justice, Victoria University of Wellington, 55 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6011, New Zealand.
2 Corresponding author. Email: Jill.wilkinson@vuw.ac.nz
Journal of Primary Health Care 13(3) 213-221 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC21026
Published: 13 August 2021
Journal Compilation © Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 2021 This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The New Zealand Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) Act 1994 was designed to protect the rights of consumers and provide a fair, simple, speedy, and efficient resolution to complaints. No recent studies have been published about the health practitioner experience of HDC investigations following a patient complaint, and none that include nurses and midwives.
AIM: To use a restorative inquiry framework to understand the impacts and needs of health practitioners arising from an event that led to an investigation by the HDC during the last 10 years.
METHODS: A descriptive qualitative approach was used with data collected using semi-structured interviews with doctors, nurses, and midwives (n = 13). The data were analysed using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Participants worked in primary care, aged care, and services provided by public hospitals. The emotional impacts arising from the event and investigation were profound, with long-lasting effects on participants’ sense of self, reputation, and how, or if, they continued to practice. Participants indicated a need for support from colleagues and employers, a fair and relational investigation process, and a meaningful way of connecting to put things right.
DISCUSSION: A shift to a restorative approach whereby people involved in a complaint come together to speak truthfully about what happened and its impact on their lives, offers hope for a process that repairs relationships and improves health services. Restorative approaches clarify accountabilities and could lead to more satisfactory outcomes for all parties. This study contributes to emerging thinking about the use of restorative approaches in health-care contexts.
KEYwords: Organisational culture; adverse events; occupational stress; medical error; patient safety; qualitative research.
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