Making a health-care complaint is tough. These tips can make the difference

Charles Kinch spent over four years complaining to the B.C. health system following the death of his wife, Leslie Kissel. 

She died of advanced uterine cancer in December 2020 at age 70. He complained that her diagnosis and treatment were mishandled by B.C. Cancer, the provincial agency that oversees cancer care.

But his complaint actually resulted in changes to the system. 

“There’s no resolution that is going to bring my wife back,” he told White Coat Black Art host Dr. Brian Goldman.

“So the whole purpose of making a complaint was for other people. Changing the system so that other people like my wife would get better treatment, better outcomes than what Leslie got.” 

Though Kinch was able to make an impact, that's not always the case when lodging a formal complaint.

And the system itself can be difficult to navigate.

But Dr. Rob Robson, who has spent much of his career dealing with patient complaints and mediation, says there are ways to improve your chances of being heard. 

Robson, a health-care mediator and emergency department physician based in Dundas, Ont., says patient complaints are typically sparked by three main reasons. 

The most common one stems from a patient or loved one wanting to understand what happened or what went wrong, he says. The other reasons are a desire to create change for future patients, and looking for someone to take accountability and apologize.

So where to start?

Robson said it's best to make a complaint as soon as possible. “If you can start that process within a few days, then the memories are clear,” he said.

But that's not always possible, especially for people who are dealing with the death of a loved one. In those cases, Robson said, health-care providers shouldn't discredit the person's concerns because they waited to make the complaint. 

When dealing with the medical system, it can be helpful to take detailed notes about the treatment and process, he said. That way, if you get to a point where you feel a complaint is necessary, you aren’t relying solely on memory.