#12DaysofHiddenHeroes: Helen Oyeleye
In the lead up to Christmas, we're shining a light on #12DaysofHiddenHeroes.
On the 11th day of the festive season, we meet Helen Oyeleye, a complaints coordinator for the surgery division at Newham Hospital.
Tell us about your role
“As part of the hospital site governance team, it’s my role to help patients who have concerns, complaints or issues regarding their care, and to make sure these are investigated. Specifically, I do this for the surgery division at Newham Hospital.
“When a complaint or concern comes in, I contact the person to have a chat with them and to ask them what way they would like the complaint to be resolved. We can either carry out an investigation ourselves and send the report to the individual, or we offer them a local resolution meeting which is where staff from the hospital team meet with the person and / or their family to talk things through directly.
It's not always a negative experience
“Once we have decided this, I then explain the process to them – how it works, how long it will take etc. Different cases can take different amounts of time, but generally we try to have a response to people within 25 working days.
What might surprise people about your role?
“That it’s not always a negative experience! People hear that I work in complaints and think it must always be really bad, that I always have people shouting at me or getting angry with me. Sometimes it is like that but sometimes it’s not – most people are simply grateful that someone is contacting them to follow-up on their issue.
“I also find it gives me great insights into the hospital – I get to learn about what we do but I also see it through other people’s eyes. I get to see and learn about where we can do more and do better, and share that with others so we can make these improvements.”
What’s your proudest patient moment?
“My role is all about being open, honest and transparent with people who may have had a negative experience at our hospital. It’s about listening to them and being understanding and empathetic of what they’ve been through.
“When I do that – when I call them to say we’re investigating an issue, to give them an update they asked for or to answer a question they haven’t had answered – I always feel proud. It’s rewarding and I feel a great sense of pride when I can get someone a resolution to an issue they’ve been having or to a complaint that they’ve raised.”
We'll have a pretty traditional Christmas
How will you be spending the holidays?
“I’m from Ireland but have been living in London for nearly a year – before that, I lived in Coventry. I’m hoping that my parents will be able to come across from Ireland and that I’ll travel up to Manchester, where we’ll all have Christmas together with my two sisters, one of whom lives in Manchester.
“We’ll have a pretty traditional Christmas in an apart-hotel there - matching Christmas PJs, lots of cooking and baking. And watching lots of Corrie – I’m a massive fan. It would be dream come true to get on the set! I just hope we can all be together and have some nice family time. It’s what Christmas is all about.”
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