Dr McBride said: “If someone has a complaint about Health and Social Care services, it is important that they raise it with whoever provided that service. They need to know that it will be investigated thoroughly and resolved as quickly as possible.
“The new system will make it easier for the public to complain about any aspect of health and social care services, including hospital care or treatment from a GP, health service dentist, pharmacist or optician. The emphasis will be on local resolution of their complaint.
“Making a complaint does not affect a person’s rights and will not result in the loss of any service. Where a person remains dissatisfied they can still take their complaint to the Northern Ireland Ombudsman.”
Dr McBride said: “If our performance is not up to standard we need to know. We want to learn when things go wrong and improve the services that we provide.”
All Health and Social Care organisations have staff who can advise on how to make a complaint. Information leaflets and posters are widely available. The Patient and Client Council can also provide free and confidential help and advice to patients or their families and carers about making a complaint.
The Chief Executive of the Patient and Client Council, Maeve Hully, said today: “It is very important that people feel able to make a complaint about any part of the care and treatment they receive. It is essential that this revised complaints policy will handle all complaints in a fair, timely and independent way.”
Notes to Editors:
- The previous system for handling complaints about Health and Social Care services had been in place since 1996 and consisted of a two-stage approach - local resolution followed by independent review – with the NI Commissioner for Complaints (the Ombudsman) acting as final arbitrator. The new arrangements remove the independent review stage. Anyone who is dissatisfied with the HSC response to their complaint can now raise their concerns with the Ombudsman.
- A public consultation on the new arrangements took place between November 2006 and March 2007.
- More details of the new HSC complaints procedure are available on the DHSSPS website and nidirect.
- Media enquiries to the DHSSPS Press Office on 028 90520579 or out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.
