Ombudsman urges public to use new rights to report health service failures

THE public should use its legal right to complain to the Ombudsman about hospitals and other aspects of the health service, Emily O’Reilly said yesterday.

Thanks to a statutory complaints procedure that came into effect on January 1, all health services linked to the Health Service Executive (HSE) have come under the remit of Ms O’Reilly’s office — opening a new avenue of complaint for those dissatisfied with healthcare standards.

The Ombudsman yesterday launched an awareness campaign aimed at advising the public of its rights in lodging complaints regarding health-related matters.

In addition to the country’s major hospitals, all health service providers are encompassed by the new Act, including senior citizen centres and institutions providing services on behalf of the HSE to those with intellectual disabilities.

Those making a complaint will still go to the hospital or institution directly, which should then inform complainants how the issue will be dealt with locally.

However, if the complainant is dissatisfied after having gone through that channel, the complaint can be taken to the Ombudsman or another independent review body, particularly if the complaint relates to a clinical matter.

The exact details of how such a body would be formed have yet to be decided.

At yesterday’s launch, Ms O’Reilly said her office and the HSE were in the same business of trying to improve the health service, and that any mechanism that could achieve that would be to the benefit of all.

Placing the complaints procedure on a statutory footing means the end of the informal recording of complaints.

A spokesman for the Ombudsman’s Office said there were no practical examples of the new powers being applied yet, as the new Act had only come into being a month ago.

The Ombudsman’s Office has, however, already dealt with a number of cases relating to hospitals, with regard to the treatment of patients’ families and administrative matters.

The spokesman said the Ombudsman would emphasise good record keeping, particularly medical and nursing records, good communication between staff, patients and families, and an increased focus on patients’ rights.