James Lawless
Ceist:1525. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Health to examine a situation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17066/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 18 April 2023
Ceisteanna (1525)
Freagraí scríofa
It is important to have effective mechanisms to maintain and enhance public confidence in the delivery of quality residential care. It is critical to build on good practice across this sector, to embed a positive complaints culture that enables issues to be responded to quickly and, more broadly, can be a driver for quality improvement.
The HSE operates a feedback and complaints process, "Your service, Your say". Details of how to make a complaint or provide feedback to the HSE are available on the HSE website at www2.hse.ie/complaints-feedback/. The Office of the Ombudsman can also examine complaints about the actions of a range of public bodies and complaints relating to the administrative actions of private nursing homes. The Office of the Ombudsman normally only deals with a complaint once the individual has engaged with the nursing homes' established complaints procedure.
As the concerns raised in the Deputy’s question are operational issues, I have referred the matter to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) through the Office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services is responsible for registering and inspecting designated centres for older people. The facility referred to by the Deputy is registered with HIQA and under the regulations the provider is required to provide an accessible and effective complaints procedure. Service users can engage with this process directly with the provider as a first step.
In addition, HIQA welcomes information about these centres, reviews all information about services received and evaluates it against the regulations and standards. Concerns can be communicated to:
- Phone: 021 240 9646
- Email: concerns@hiqa.ie
- Address: HIQA, George’s Court, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 E98Y
As a regulator, HIQA has no legal role in examining individual complaints, however, the Authority does take into account all information it receives, including complaints from the public, when carrying out inspections and this range of information informs a risk-based approach to regulation.