Ombudsman to investigate how public hospitals handle complaints

The Ombudsman Peter Tyndall has announced that he will investigate how public hospitals handle complaints. The wide-ranging investigation will look at how public hospitals across the State manage and investigate complaints from patients and their families. Mr Tyndall said that we are just not a nation of complainers  officially, anyway. “Despite the high number of interactions with our hospitals, relatively few people complain when they are unhappy with the service they receive. Compared with other jurisdictions, complaints to the HSE and to my Office are very low. I want to find out why this is ” he said. The investigation will include site visits and inspections of selected hospitals, interviews with front line and senior staff, focus groups with members of the public, consultation with interested groups, and examination of complaints dealt with by the HSE and the Ombudsman.
As a first step the Ombudsman is asking members of the public to let his office know of their experiences, both positive and negative, of making a complaint about a public hospital.