Making a complaint about the health service is set to become easier as part of a major package of patient safety reforms, which has just been announced by the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar.

The reforms include simplifying the complaints procedure, enhancing the powers of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and enhancing the powers of the Ombudsman.

A National Patient Safety Office is also to be created and an annual national patient experience survey will be carried out.

The reforms, which Minister Varadkar described as ‘the most wide-ranging package of patient safety measures in Irish history', have already been agreed at Cabinet.

Minister Varadkar insisted that patient safety ‘should be at the heart of everything we do as a health service', however he acknowledged that in recent years, ‘there have been some very high-profile and tragic exceptions which have damaged public confidence in the health service'.

He noted that for patients and relatives, ‘the experience of making a complaint can be bewildering', which is why this process is to be simplified. Meanwhile, a package of legal reforms aims to reduce the length of court cases, and plaintiffs will be entitled to regular index-linked compensation payments instead of a lump sum.

"The National Patient Safety Office will help to drive the overall patient safety agenda. All these initiatives should put the patient first, improve their experience of the health service, reduce harm and reduce costs, and ultimately save lives," Minister Varadkar said.

He also pointed out that the annual patient survey will provide direct feedback from patients about how they rate individual services or hospitals. Irishhealth.com already provides a similar service through our Rate My Hospital site, which allows patients and their loved ones to rate and comment on their recent hospital experiences.

If you would like to rate your experience in hospital or see how your local hospital is doing, click here