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Training

5.36 Training is the key to making the complaints procedure work effectively. Trusts and Health Board should work together to ensure that their staff are competent and confident in dealing with expressions of concern or complaint. The improvement of these skills must be a high priority of the Chief Executive/General Manager. Trusts and Health Board should consider the scope for joint training of staff, conveners, lay chairmen and panel members. Good practice suggests that key players in the complaints procedure will benefit from regular informal discussion of matters of common interests. The Ombudsman's Reports on completed investigations, published twice yearly, offer useful points for such discussion.

5.37 The Management Executive is happy to consider holding seminars on matters of regional or national interest, and is in regular touch with complaints officers and conveners on such matters.

5.38 A series of regional seminars organised by the Management Executive took place in January and February 1996 to assist in raising awareness of the need for change to make the implementation of the new procedures a success. Training events for conveners, independent lay panel chairmen and panel members took place during 1996 and were published to coincide with these seminars. Training material was also published in 1996 for clinical assessors. Trusts are responsible for ensuring that assessors receive a copy of the briefing as they are appointed to particular panels. A further series of training seminars for key players in the complaints procedure were held this year in each Health Board region in 1998 and 1999. Conveners should not be asked to undertake their role without appropriate training.

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