ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)1999
General practitioners' experiences of patients' complaints: qualitative study.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 1999. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed.
- Promoting youth well-being: a qualitative study of Finnish YouTubers' mental health content.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- Factors influencing the nature of client complaint behaviour in the aftermath of adverse events.The Veterinary record · 2025Article
- Prudent Physician Anger in Patient-Physician Interactions.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2025Article
- Experiences of Physicians Investigated for Professionalism Concerns: a Narrative Review.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Review
- Addressing Stigma and Promoting Help-Seeking Among African Nova Scotian Youth Experiencing Psychosis and Other Mental Health Problems.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2023Article
- Associations between Depressive Symptoms, Work Environment, and Lifestyle in <40-year-old Male Orthopedic Physicians in Japan.JMA journal · 2022Article
- Article
- Beyond the Boundaries: Exploring the Identity-Related Experiences of Biracial/Multiracial and Bisexual Adults.Archives of sexual behavior · 2022Article
- The Personal and Professional Impact of Patients' Complaints on Doctors-A Qualitative Approach.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- "I'd Rather Use a Refuse Bag:" A Qualitative Exploration of a South African Community's Perceptions of Government-Provided Condoms and Participant-Preferred Solutions.Archives of sexual behavior · 2021Article
- Doctors' characteristics and the use of long consultations at out-of-hours services 2008-2017: a registry-based follow-up study in Norway.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2019Article
- A meta-ethnography of the facilitators and barriers to successful implementation of patient complaints processes in health-care settings.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2018Review
- Patient and provider perspectives inform an intervention to improve linkage to care for HIV patients in Ukraine.BMC health services research · 2018Article
- Article
- "It is easier for me to shoot up": stigma, abandonment, and why HIV-positive drug users in Russia fail to link to HIV care.AIDS care · 2017Article
- Is imperfection becoming easier to live with for doctors?Clinical ethics · 2017Article
- Patient complaints about health care in a Swedish County: characteristics and satisfaction after handling.Nursing open · 2016Article
- Article
- The impact of complaints procedures on the welfare, health and clinical practise of 7926 doctors in the UK: a cross-sectional survey.BMJ open · 2015Article
- European citizens' opinions on immunisation.Vaccine · 2008Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine how general practitioners experience patients' complaints.
settingGeneral practices in Lambeth, Southwark, and Lewisham health authority.
participantsRepresentative sample of 30 general practitioners who had had complaints made against them under either the old or new complaints system.
designQualitative study with detailed interviews.
resultsParticipants described their experiences of patients' complaints in three stages: initial impact, conflict, and resolution. The first stage described being out of control, feelings of shock and panic, and a sense of indignation towards patients generally. The second stage described the many conflicts generated by the complaint: emotional conflicts such as feelings of anger, depression, and even suicide, conflicts around aspects of professional identity including doubts about clinical competence, conflicts with family and colleagues, and conflicts arising from the management of the complaint. The third stage described a sense of resolution. For many this meant practising defensively, for others it meant planning to leave general practice, and for a minority no resolution was achieved. Not all participants, however, reported such a negative experience. Some described how they had become immune to complaints, and a small minority described the complaint as a learning experience.
conclusionThe initial impact stage and conflict stage may be necessary aspects of the experience that general practitioners endure when they have a complaint made against them. Support structures should, however, be in place to help general practitioners through these stages.
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