Many hospital patients do not know how to make a complaint if they are unhappy with their treatment and many more are simply too afraid to complain for fear of repercussions, a new report has revealed.

The report, Learning to Get Better - How Public Hospitals Handle Complaints, is based on an investigation by the Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall.

He looked at how well the HSE and public hospitals listen to feedback and complaints. As part of this, he sought the views of people who had complained about a hospital service. Some of these were patients, while others were relatives and/or carers.

One of the major issues uncovered by Mr Tyndall was the fact that many people simply do not know how to make a complaint and are not aware of the support available to help them to do this, including bringing a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman.

The report also found that there were two main barriers to making a complaint or providing feedback:
-People were too afraid to complain about the care they or a loved one received because they were concerned about repercussions
-People did not complain because they did not think it would make any difference.

Furthermore, when complaints were dealt with, many people expressed their frustration about delays, incomplete answers and a lack of proper apologies.

"Complaints are a vital early warning system for hospitals and other health services. I wonder if the tragic events seen in Áras Attracta and the Midlands Hospital Portlaoise, could have been avoided if those complaints that were made were dealt with properly," commented Mr Tyndall.

The report called on the HSE and each hospital to establish a single, consistent complaints system that makes it easier for people to actually make a complaint.

It also emphasised the importance of learning from complaints. It noted that some hospital staff found it difficult to get internal feedback on the outcome of complaints and it said that it is important that the HSE and hospitals ‘highlight complaint outcomes which lead to improvements and changes in procedures, and inform people (the public, hospital staff and the hospitals) what these improvements are'.

The report recommended that an independent advocacy service be ‘sufficiently supported and signposted within each hospital so patients and their families know where to get support if they want to raise a concern or issue'.

It also recommended that each hospital group should provide ‘a six monthly report to the HSE on the operation of the complaints system detailing the issues giving rise to complaints and the steps taken to resolve them'.

"The HSE should publish an annual commentary on these six monthly reports," it added.

Complaints to the Ombudsman about healthcare make up just 20% of all complaints received. This is very low when compared with other jurisdictions, such as Northern Ireland (60%). Mr Tyndall wanted to find out why this is the case here.

This marked the most extensive investigation ever carried out by the Office of the Ombudsman. Aside from speaking to patients, all public hospitals were surveyed, a number of hospitals were visited, and staff members, focus groups and advocacy groups were interviewed.

The Office of the Ombudsman is responsible for examining complaints about certain public bodies, such as the HSE, government departments and local authorities. For more information, click here