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Complaints against the Public Health Service - A report by the Ombudsman to the Health service Executive

Date released: 05.05.2006

The Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has today published a special report on her experience of dealing with complaints in the public health and personal social services sector. It may be viewed on the Ombudsman website at www.ombudsman.ie.

The report is part of a new initiative which she has launched aimed at giving constructive feedback to public bodies operating in different sectors of her remit. This first report has been presented to the Health Service Executive (HSE) and it identifies a number of positive measures which will assist the HSE and those agencies delivering services on its behalf to improve health service administration.

The most important feature of the report is The Ombudsman's Statement of Good Practice for the Public Health Service in dealing with Patients (see Chapter 8). This Statement is intended to assist the health services in becoming more patient focused. It also takes account of the ethical guidelines published by the Medical Council and the Code of Professional Conduct published by An Bord Altranais. The Ombudsman intends to use it in her examination of complaints relating to public healthcare and to ensure that it becomes a living reality for all patients.

This patient centred approach is more necessary than ever, not only in the light of ongoing difficulties in the health services, but also in view of the Health Act 2004 which, for the first time, provides for the establishment of a statutory procedure for handling complaints relating to health and personal social services.

Regulations to be made under that Act by the Minister for Health and Children, will give members of the public the right to complain about services delivered by:

- the HSE,

- the major hospitals in the Dublin area, the so-called Public Voluntary Hospitals (e.g., Beaumont, St James' Street, St Vincent's) as well other similar hospitals in the rest of the country,

- institutions, nation-wide, providing services on behalf of the HSE to the intellectually disabled (e.g., St Michael's House and The Brothers of Charity) and

- agencies receiving assistance from the HSE towards the provision of a service similar or ancillary to a service that the HSE may provide

(e.g., South Infirmary - Victoria University Hospital, Cork and St John's Hospital, Limerick ),.

These hospitals, institutions and agencies

The report also addresses a point often made by complainants to the Ombudsman, namely, that service providers should learn from their mistakes so as to ensure that other people do not experience similar problems. The learning highlighted in the report includes;

- the importance of good record keeping, particularly medical and nursing records,

- the importance of good communications (between medical, nursing and administrative staff and between healthcare staff, patients and their families),

- the need to acknowledge that things do go wrong and when they do, that staff are empowered to resolve the problem as close as possible to the point of grievance.

also will come within the Ombudsman's remit thus giving dissatisfied complainants access to an independent review of their case. This report is also directed at these bodies as they prepare for the introduction of scrutiny by her Office. The effect of these changes means that the entire public health system will be covered by the Ombudsman's remit although matters relating solely to the exercise of clinical judgement will not come within the scope of the complaints system or her Office.

For further information contact: Michael Brophy, Office of the Ombudsman, 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2. Tel:- (01)6395639, e-mail: michael_brophy@ombudsman.gov.ie or Matt Merrigan, Tel:- (01) 6395635, email: matthew_merrigan@ombudsman.gov.ie

See attached link for a brief guide to the role of the Ombudsman

- http://www.ombudsman.gov.ie/en/FAQs/

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