Almost 13,000 people have visited the public service website www.healthcomplaints.ie in the eight months since its launch last September, the Medical Independent (MI) has learned.
A spokesperson for the initiative also told this publication that a survey is to be conducted amongst the agencies involved “to see what impact Healthcomplaints.ie has had, gather data where possible on the number and types of complaints received, and explore what can be done to improve the use of the site and the Healthcomplaints.ie materials”.
A joint initiative between 17 regulatory bodies and service providers including the Office of the Ombudsman, the HSE, HIQA, the Mental Health Commission and the Medical Council, the website was established with the aim of “providing clear information on how and where to make a complaint about health or social care services in Ireland”.
Its introduction followed the results of a poll by HIQA which found that 84 per cent of those with a complaint did not know who to complain to and 52 per cent felt too intimidated to complain.