Social Market Research (SMR) have conducted a series of focus groups to provide research evidence into the handling of public hospital complaints in Ireland. The research was commissioned by the Office of the Ombudsman and published in the investigative report: “Learning to Get Better”.

An investigation by the ombudsman into how public hospitals handle complaints.

The research found that the complaints process in many public hospitals was often confusing with many people unaware of their right to escalate complaints to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Further, the research also identified that some people were afraid to raise complaints due to “a fear of repercussions for their own or their relatives’ treatment”. Many also expressed “a lack of confidence that anything would change as a result of complaining”.

Donal McDade, Managing Director of Social Market Research said: “The research we carried out indicated a large sentiment of mistrust with the complaints procedures in public hospitals in Ireland. Only by talking to people with first hand experience as users of the public hospital system can we understand the challenges they face.We anticipate that the outcomes from this research will help support positive change within this sector”.

Learning to get Better HD from Office of the Ombudsman on Vimeo.