The Patient Advocacy Service has launched its 2024 Annual Report. The Report presents the key activities, statistics, and achievements of the Service and showcases the continuing growth in demand for independent advocacy services in Ireland.
The Patient Advocacy Service, commissioned by the Department of Health and delivered by the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities (NAS), provides support to people who wish to make a complaint about their care in a Public Acute Hospital or a HSE Operated Nursing Home or a Private Nursing Home and in the aftermath of a patient safety incident. The Patient Advocacy Service was established in 2019 and this is its fifth annual report.
The Patient Advocacy Service provided support to 2,120 individuals in 2024, identifying 6,553 separate complaint issues.
The Service received 301 enquiries in relation to nursing home complaints, a 53% increase on 2023. 239 related to complaints around care in private nursing homes and 62 related to complaints around care in HSE-operated nursing homes. Some of the main concerns highlighted in these complaints included issues with safety, concerns about Fair Deal and additional charges, concerns about the treatment of a family member in a nursing home and poor personal care.
2024 was the fifth full year of service delivery for the Patient Advocacy Service, marking an important milestone in its efforts to support patients of acute hospitals and nursing home residents with complaints about their care and following a patient safety incident. The Service supported over 7,000 people in its first five years in operation, with numbers continuing to grow year on year. .