Healthcare Mediation Gaining Popularity in Britain

by Holly Hayes

The Health Service Journal for Healthcare Leaders, a British publication, posted an article in September 2012 titled “Mediation? Now you’re talking” authored by David Liddle, founder and chief executive of the TCM Group and president of the Professional Mediators’ Association.

The post references a survey of 122 National Health Service (NHS) trusts regarding workplace grievances. Survey results indicate “83 per cent are already using mediation to resolve workplace disputes, with 87 per cent of those trusts reporting a significant reduction in the number of grievances. Forty-three per cent of trusts reported a fall in the number of employment tribunals – directly attributable to introducing a mediation scheme.”

Evidence from the survey suggests that NHS trusts are using mediation to secure positive outcomes within an increasingly complex and challenging range of conflicts and change processes. Gill Bellord, head of employee relations at NHS Employers, is enthusiastic about the role of mediation. “NHS Employers supports the increased use of mediation in the NHS as an effective means of resolving complaints, managing change and handling workplace disputes. There are benefits in terms of outcomes, maintaining on-going relationships and value for money.”

The article mentions cost as an advantage of mediation in the National Health System. Gemma Brown, an employment solicitor at specialist public services law firm TPP Law, stated:

“Typically, there are a number of stakeholders involved in a dispute involving an NHS trust. As a consequence of this, legal costs can escalate dramatically. I believe NHS trusts would be wise to explore the possibility of mediation in resolving a dispute both at the outset and throughout the matter as this may prove to be an effective way of resolving differences and as such keeping costs to a minimum.”

The Northumbria Healthcare Trust reported estimated savings from mediation. The trust calculated costs of their basic grievance process to be around £1,800 ($2880). This amount does not include the cost of the affect of a grievance on staff morale and work time lost due to stress or affects of conflict on team productivity. By comparison, the average cost of mediation by an in-house mediator is approximately £520 ($830).

Examples of where mediation is being used in the NHS include: change processes or re-organizations, the merger of services and staff, patient complaints and the care of seriously ill children.

We welcome any comments on how mediation can be used in the healthcare field in the US.