Help Available

Getting started on making a formal complaint can be difficult. Read on for some useful guidelines.

How you might lay out your complaint

• Decide who it is you want to make a complaint to (i.e., a hospital, directly to a doctor or nurse, or to their regulatory body - such as the Medical Council
• What happened?
• When did it happen? (Date, time, day, was it a holiday weekend)?
• Who was there?
• What was said and who said it?
• Was anybody told about this? Who, and when were they told
• Was your/patient's informed consent given for the treatment or medications?
• What risks were advised? What options were given?
• Briefly, what has been the impact on you as a patient, family member or carer?
• Do you need a copy of the medical and nursing records (notes)? You may need these notes explained to you.
• State what it is you want - e.g., an apology, an explanation of what caused the problem, a change in the way things are done so that other patients won't be affected.

Managing your complaint

Make a note of:

• When your complaint was made and to whom.
• Dates of contacts, written and verbal.
• Additional information provided by you or person you have made complaint to.
• Responses made and if they answer your enquiries.
• Follow up enquiries you make.

What you might expect of the outcome

• An explanation of why or how something happened in words that you understand.
• An apology.
• An acknowledgement that the way things are done will be changed.
• An explanation of the medical records.

If you are not happy with the outcome, you presently only have recourse to the Office of the Ombudsman for publicly operated hospitals: tel, 1 890 22 30 30.

These options are without prejudice to your common law entitlements to go the legal route. Some hospitals have a complaints appeals procedure in place.

Expected legislation in 2004 will establish a statutory independent appeals process.
Contact the Irish Patient’s Association if you are having difficulty: info@irishpatients.ie

Taken from www.irishpatients.ie