There are few circumstances under which a hospital stay is an entirely pleasant experience. Sometimes, however, a very bad experience necessitates taking your dissatisfaction to the next level. But when, and how, do you effectively do that?
Start by evaluating the nature of your dispute. Is there a valid reason for your complaint, and can you expect a satisfactory outcome from protesting? How you complain can be as important as why you complain, says Michael Decter, co-author of Navigating Canada's Health Care: A User Guide to Getting the Care You Need (Penguin Group Canada, 2006). "Don't get angry at staff," he warns. "They work very hard and are often under a lot of pressure."
When and how to speak up
"The big upfront piece of advice is to know why you're complaining," says Decter. Knowing exactly what you expect from your complaint will help you determine the steps you need to take to get action.
"Sometimes people think the squeaky wheel means pounding the table and yelling," says Decter. "In our view it means calmly and persistently putting your concerns across until you're satisfied with the outcome."
Decter and co-author Francesca Grosso describe three situations under which you may want to formally complain, and each scenario suggests a different avenue to take your complaint:
1. You want to improve your access to care or the quality of care you're receiving.
Decter says you have a right to treatment, a right to a diagnosis, and a right to coverage. If you feel these rights have not been met, your first course of action may simply be to politely and firmly question what you have been told.
"Don't leave (the hospital) without a diagnosis -- that ups the ante for them," warns Decter. "If you leave of your own volition, without a diagnosis, and something goes wrong, they can say, quite properly, that you left."
2. You're complaining to prevent the same situation from happening to someone else.
Maybe you've had a bad experience within the health care system and, although nothing can be done about your particular situation, you want to prevent the same thing from happening to anyone else. You can take your complaints to a number of different places to ensure that it doesn't happen again.
"In this situation your allies may be more in the political system, perhaps the Minister's office, or in the media," says Decter.
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