Explaining ‘Your Service, Your Say’ the HSE Complaints Process

‘Your Service, Your Say’ is the name of the HSE’s complaints process for all users of HSE funded services, including Public Acute Hospitals. In addition to being a complaints process, ‘Your Service, Your Say’ is also a way to provide feedback to the HSE.

The HSE has a complaints and feedback section on its website, and the ways to provide feedback and make a complaint are available here.

The HSE complaints policy ‘Your Service, Your Say’ covers both complaints and feedback.

Feedback may be a suggestion on how to improve a service and may not require a formal outcome or investigation.

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction which needs a response. It is usually made when a person is unhappy with the experience they have had, and want to receive a response from the HSE to address the complaint.

Both complaints and feedback are made through the same HSE policy “Your Service, Your Say.”

The HSE Complaints process, Your Service, Your Say, is divided into Four Stages.

Stage 1 is an informal stage, where a complaint is made verbally, and resolved locally and quickly.

Stage 2 is the start of a formal complaint, and involves making a written complaint.

Stage 3 is an internal review in the HSE if a person is not happy with the way the complaint they made under Stage 2 has been handled.

Finally, Stage 4 is when a complaint goes to independent review. This means an external organisation, such as the Ombudsman or the Medical Council, receive the complaint. A person can request an independent review if they are unhappy with the outcome of the stage 2 or stage 3 process.

Each stage is outlined in greater detail below.

There are some complaints which may be suitable for quick management and resolution at the Public Acute Hospital with a point of contact. You may make a complaint locally and the person receiving the complaint will seek to resolve the issue or pass it on to the relevant person to follow up where necessary. Complaints at stage 1 are usually acknowledged immediately but should be responded to within 2 working days.

Timeframe: usually within 2 working days.

Complaints that cannot be resolved at Stage 1 may need to be referred to a Complaints Officer for investigation and action where appropriate. More serious and complex issues may move immediately to Stage 2. As a service user, if you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint at stage 1 you can request a formal investigation of your complaint.

A complaints officer will be appointed to investigate your complaint. The complaints officer will normally meet you to confirm details of the complaint.

Following a full investigation about the complaint, the complaints officer will either uphold the complaint or not, and make recommendations in a report.

Where appropriate, an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations is also put in place and monitored by the Complaints officer and Risk Manager where appropriate.

Timeframe: Investigation by Complaints Officer within 30 working days. If there is a delay they will inform you by the due date and update you every 20 days. 

If you are not happy with the outcome of the complaint investigation at Stage 2, you have the option of requesting a review by the HSE.

A Review Officer, not involved in the complaint, is appointed and will look to review the process, findings and recommendations of the original complaints officers report. The Review officer may agree with the findings and recommendations, add new recommendations or recommend a new investigation.

Timeframe: If you want an internal review, you must send a letter within 30 days of the initial response to your written complaint.

The review officer issues acknowledgment letter within 5 working days, Review of Recommendations within 20 working days, or else an extension might be requested.

NOTE: You do not have to avail of Stage 3 and may decide to escalate directly to Stage 4. 

You may decide to refer your complaint for Independent Review, for example, to the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Children or other professional or regulatory bodies. This course of action can be taken either directly following Stage 2 or following Stage 3 of an Internal Complaint Review.

The office of the Ombudsman looks at complaints from people who feel treated unfairly by a public service provider (including examining complaints from patients of public acute hospitals).

More information on an independent review of a complaint can be found here ‘Where can I complain externally to the HSE?”

No, you do not need to go through all 4 stages.

You should first make an informal Stage 1 complaint to your point of contact in the hospital. However, if you have a serious or complex complaint, you can skip the informal Stage 1, and move directly to a formal Stage 2 complaint.

If you are unhappy with the response you receive after you have made a Stage 2 complaint, you can request that the HSE do an internal review under Stage 3 or you can decide to refer the matter for an Independent Review under Stage 4.

The view of the Ombudsman is final and cannot be appealed. Therefore, it may be advisable that a person exhaust the full Stage 2 and Stage 3 HSE process internally first, before going externally to Stage 4, as there is no appeal process after Stage 4. 

See FAQs on an Independent Review.

If you are not happy with the response of your complaint at the initial point of contact/Stage 1 of the complaints process, you can ask for your complaint to be investigated at Stage 2 of the complaints process. 

If you are not happy with the decision of the appointed Complaints officer at Stage 2, you can either request an internal review of the decision – Stage 3 of the complaints process or you can opt to move directly to stage 4, which is an Independent review by an organisation such as the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Children or other regulatory bodies. The decision of the Ombudsman is final and there is no appeal at this stage.  

See FAQs on an Independent Review.