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Hospital Complaints Procedures

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020

Tuesday, 30 June 2020

Questions (500)

Emer Higgins

Question:

500. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health the options available to a public hospital patient to make a complaint; the role of agencies outside the HSE and his Department such as the Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13291/20]

View answer

Written answers

The public health services recognise and value that it is the right of service users to comment, compliment or complain about any of the services provided by the HSE and its funded bodies. Responding effectively to comments, compliments and complaints received and learning from them is key to providing high quality customer focused services.   

Outlined below is a short summary of the options available to patients of public hospitals.  More detailed information can be found on www.healthcomplaints.ie, https://www2.hse.ie/services/hse-complaints-and-feedback/your-service-your-say.html ,

Complaints options for public hospital patients

For nearly all types of complaint, you should complain locally as a first step.  The hospital is responsible for your care and treatment.

Option 1: Complain locally

All publicly funded hospitals have produced complaints procedures which are available in the hospital or on their website.  All public hospitals’ complaints procedures follow the same procedures as those outlined in the HSE’s complaints procedure called Your Service Your Say, https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/qavd/complaints/ysysguidance/ysys2017.pdf .

Option 2: Request a review

If you are unhappy with the initial response, you can request an internal review from the Complaints Officer in the hospital or take your complaint directly to the Ombudsman or the Ombudsman for Children.

Option 3: Complain to the Ombudsman or the Ombudsman for Children

The Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children are independent organisations which can investigate complaints about services provided by or on behalf of the Health Service Executive (HSE) or agencies, such as charities and voluntary bodies, that deliver health and social services on behalf of the HSE.  If you were treated as a public patient and you are not happy with how the service is handling your complaint, you should contact the Ombudsman or the Ombudsman for Children.

Option 4: Contact a regulator

Regulators have responsibility for protecting the quality and safety of health and social care services. Regulators can regulate different things, for example, they can be responsible for health professionals, for health service quality or for medicines.

You may wish to make a complaint to a professional regulator if you are concerned about the behaviour, conduct, practice or health of a registered professional.  Professional regulators include the Medical Council, The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) and CORU.   Most of the regulators can take a complaint from a member of the public, but there are restrictions on how some of the regulators can handle that complaint.

Service quality regulators include the Mental Health Commission (MHC) and the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).  Medicines and healthcare product regulators include the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).  HIQA and MHC cannot investigate individual complaints. However, if you have a concern about a particular service, you can contact HIQA or the MHC to alert them to an issue. 

Option 5: Get legal advice

If you feel your complaint is particularly serious, you may wish to get legal advice on your complaint. It is recommended to always get legal advice before you begin legal action.

Support for people who wish to make a complaint about the care or treatment they received

The Patient Advocacy Service was established by the Department of Health in 2019 and is an independent, free and confidential service that provides information and support to people who want to make a formal complaint about an experience they have had in a HSE-funded public acute hospital. 

For those needing assistance in making a formal complaint about the care they have experienced in a public hospital, the service has more information on its website; provides an online contact form and can also be contacted by phone at 0818 293003.

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