Handling Complaints Effectively

21 Oct 2025 13:30 - 17:00 Kirkland's Medical Education Centre Free

Handling Complaints Effectively

Workshop Programme

Resources

Post Evaluation

An immersive half day interactive workshop for NHS Lanarkshire Senior Doctors, Charge Nurses, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Pharmacists and other Allied Health Professionals (Band 6+).  Participants will work in a small peer group to address challenging, real life complaint scenarios drawn from their own clinical, teaching and management roles. Participants will be empowered with the communication skills and confidence to have better conversations when responding verbally to complaints.
Common challenges addressed during the programme are;

• Addressing and handling complaints
• Resolving conflict and preventing complaints from escalating
• Handling strong emotions – anger, emotional distress, denial and collusion
• Talking to patients and families involved in adverse events
• Addressing complaints from colleagues or other members of the clinical team
• Diffusing emotionally charged situations

Learning Outcomes

• review current practice in communicating with patients, their relatives, colleagues and trainees
• identify personal learning objectives and develop strategies for addressing these within a supported peer learning group.
• critique and apply relevant literature/ theory on effective communication
• evaluate and respond to patient/carer/ colleague perspectives
• identify ways of increasing communication effectiveness
• exchange ideas and experiences with senior colleagues from other specialties

Open to NHS Lanarkshire staff only

Kirkland's Medical Education Centre

Handling Complaints Effectively

Date: 21 Oct 2025
Time: 13:30 - 17:00

Tutor team

Dr Eve McCann

EC4H Lead Tutor

Dr Eve McCann is a Specialty Doctor in Care of the Elderly. Eve joined the EC4H Tutor Team in June 2018

Dr Alastair Brown

EC4H Tutor

Mr Alistair Brown is a consultant general surgeon with interests in surgical critical care and anticipatory care planning. He regularly teaches on critical care courses (a key component of which is communication skills) both in the UK and abroad. He has undergone training with Effective Communication for Health in Edinburgh and trained as a tutor in November 2016. He has taught communication to a variety of postgraduate groups as part of the critical care teaching. GMC number 3542039