According to the latest survey, public satisfaction with the NHS is at an all-time low.

Underneath these statistics are 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 facing delays in care. And, also, clinicians experiencing the 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 of witnessing the impact on our patients.

This moral distress is being compounded by a rise in patient complaints/GMC referrals. PALS complaints are rising by over 5% year on year, and public referrals to the GMC are seeing a similar increase, driven, I suspect, by dissatisfaction in the system more than individual doctors.

The distress of receiving a patient complaint can be significant, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 who provide the best possible care.

For some (me included), particularly personal complaints can lead us to consider our whole futures as clinicians. And patient complaints are just one of 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 we face as doctors (other examples include GMC referrals, critical safety incidents, clinical negligence claims).

When faced with such a situation, the critical step is to acknowledge and share our distress, rather than internalise and bury/deny it.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧. The best antidote is to be listened to with empathy, given space, understood and validated by a colleague. To hear from a peer that we are not alone, that ‘𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴’, ‘𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰’, to share our 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, sense of togetherness.

This allows us to 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬.

At times like these, our clinicians ‘𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬s’ paradigm risks making us reluctant to reach out for support. And so, this support should be 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

A peer support system where a trained peer supporter contacts a colleague facing a stressful situation at work 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.

Peer supporters need training to disconnect from our doctor’s problem-solving mindset, to avoid trying to fix the problem. Instead, the skill is to become 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧, to get down in the pit with them and listen with empathy.

I would encourage Trusts to set up systems to flag when clinicians are likely to be distressed, train and supervise a group of skilled peer supporters and embed an effective system that connects a peer supporter to a fellow clinician.

This link provides a helpful toolkit for setting up a peer support programme. https://edhub.ama-assn.org/steps-forward/module/2767766

As an act of organisational and individual kindness, this can make all the difference.