Patient Advocacy Service: How to make a complaint about the HSE

6 minute read

The Patient Advocacy Service (PAS) is a free and confidential service, independent of the HSE, where you can avail of independent, free and confidential information, advice, advocacy and support in making a complaint in relation to certain health services. The PAS offers support to individuals who wish to make a complaint regarding an experience they have had in a HSE Public Acute Hospital or a HSE operated nursing home.

The PAS also offers support with a patient safety incident which is essentially an incident whereby you experience or could have experienced an unintended or unexpected injury or harm when you received healthcare. You are entitled to independent advocacy support from PAS if you experience a patient safety incident through an investigation process.

Patient Advocacy Service: Complaints Relating to Care in a Public Acute Hospital in Ireland

A complaint can be made verbally, in person by speaking with a member of staff at the hospital in question or alternatively a complaint may be made over the phone, via email, in writing or by filling out the feedback form online.

An individual has 12 months from the time of the event/action which has been complained of, to lodge a complaint. In circumstances where the individual making a complaint was not aware of the issue/event until a later date, the individual will have 12 months from the date that they became aware of the issue to lodge a complaint. It is at the discretion of a complaints officer to decide to investigate a complaint outside of these timeframes in special circumstances.

The timeframe regarding a response to your complaint can vary. In circumstances where a verbal complaint is made, the staff member or person dealing with your complaint should try and resolve the complaint immediately, if possible, or within 48 hours. Receipt of a complaint made by email/written complaint should be acknowledged within 5 working days. The formal investigation should be completed within 30 working days and if this is not the case, the complaints officer must inform you of the delay by the due date and update you every 20 days thereafter.

An individual can make a complaint under their “Your Service Your Say Procedure”.

A written complaint should include the following information:

Your name
Phone number
Email address
Name of Public Acute Hospital
Name of section in the hospital
Who was involved
Dates and time of experience
An accurate description of what occurred
What steps have been carried out in an attempt to resolve the issue so far
What you would like to happen now to resolve the issue

Complaints can be carried out by doing one of the following:

Talking to a member of staff
Phone call 1800 424 555 from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday
Phone call to HSE Live 1800 700 700 from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 5pm on Saturdays
Email yoursay@hse.ie
Filling out online HSE complaints form
Writing or emailing the complaints officer in the hospital directly

Where a person cannot make a complaint independently due to age, illness or disability, a complaint can be made on their behalf by a representative of that individual.

The complaint can be withdrawn at any stage of the complaints process.

Patient Advocacy Service: Complaints Relating to a Nursing Home in Ireland

Stage One: Raise the issue with staff by phone or in person. The issue may be resolved without the need to make a formal, written complaint.

Stage Two: If you are unhappy with the response received at stage one, you can make a formal complaint. This can be done by way of a written letter or email to your nursing home. Specific nursing homes may have an online complaints process. A written response must be provided by the nursing home as soon as possible and no later than 30 working days after receipt of the complaint. In the event that 30 working day timeframe cannot be complied with, you should be provided with a written response informing you when you will receive a response and detailing the reason for the delay.

Your complaint should include the following:

Name
Phone number
Email address
Name of nursing home
Who was involved
Dates and times of experience
Accurate description of what happened
What you would like to happen now
Attach any relevant documentation

Send your complaint by post/email, phone or online. A complaints officer in the nursing home will be nominated to investigate your complaint. Following a full investigation, the complaints officer will either uphold the complaint or not and present the reasons for their decision, any improvements recommended and any details of the review process in a written response.

Stage Three: In the event that you are unhappy with the decision you receive you can request that a review officer be appointed who is a different individual from the person who carried out the original investigation, to review the decision. The review officer will prevent the findings of the review in a written response as soon as possible and no later than 20 days after receipt of your request. In the event that the 20 working day timeframe cannot be complied with you should receive a written response informing you when you will receive a response and the reason for the delay.

Stage 4: If you would like an external organisation to look at how your complaint has been handled, you can contact the Ombudsman or other regulatory organisations to consider your complaint.

For further information, visit the Patient Advocacy Service.

By Mary Ni Ghuairim

Speak with a medical negligence solicitor in Ireland

If you believe you have suffered from clinical negligence and wish to speak with an expert, Contact Us today. Or, visit Medical Negligence Claims to learn more about our services.

In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.