Learning from complaints during covid-19: discuss risks and benefits before hospital treatment

Oliver says that, as we recover from the pandemic, our handling of complaints must surely change.1 In medicine, and for surgeons and anaesthetists in particular, the concept of discussing risks as well as benefits in advance of treatment is well understood and well established. It is the basis of valid consent.Perhaps we should regard a hospital based episode of care in much the same way. Rather than apologising when things go wrong or are not as expected, we could inform patients of general hazards and unintended adverse consequences before or on admission to hospital. We could highlight those areas—often delays, décor, and “doing without”—over which we have little control, explain why this is the case, and suggest what steps, if any, the patient might take in mitigation of the risk.This more open, more “medical,” and less paternalistic approach could be seen as opening a can of worms or used to…
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