50% ‘too intimidated’ to complain about healthcare

A SURVEY has found more than half the population feels too intimidated to complain about the quality of healthcare – yet the number of patient complaints received by the Health Service Executive last year rose by 63%.

The HSE, which received almost 8,000 complaints from service users in 2009, has attributed the increase to progress made “in ensuring that the complaints process is easily accessed and that people feel able or empowered to make complaints”.

However, the poll shows: