We can offer information and support to people making a formal complaint to the HSE about a public acute hospital or a HSE-operated nursing home from Stage 2 onwards, and every stage after that, including making complaints to external organisations like the Ombudsman.
This means people should first have made a Stage 1, informal complaint, before seeking support from the Patient Advocacy Service to escalate your complaint.
- The Service can help you to understand the HSE complaints process, called ‘Your Service, Your Say.’
- We can explain what to include in your complaint and how to write a complaint
- We can explain your options if there is a delay to your complaint, or if you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint
- We can explain how to escalate your complaint and where to escalate your complaint to
Check out our FAQ and step-by-step guide
Currently, the Patient Advocacy Service can provide assistance to people making complaints about public acute hospitals and HSE-operated nursing homes. Therefore, if you have a complaint about an experience you have had in a primary care centre, in a community setting, in a residential service, at the GP or somewhere else outside of a hospital setting, then the Patient Advocacy Service is not currently available to provide advocacy support. – More information about your complaints options for these settings can be found on healthcomplaints.ie
You can apply to information and support from an advocate by filling out this form or by phoning the national line 0818 293003.