The RCSI Hospital Group is committed to ensuring that all patient feedback; including comments, complaints and compliments are acknowledged, reviewed and responded to as efficiently as possible.

Contact Details of Hospital Personnel to provide Patient Feedback

The RCSI Hospital Group has committed staff at each hospital site to engage directly with service users. Our Patient Advice & Liaison Staff and Complaint Officers offer support and guidance for service users throughout the complaints and feedback process. Click here to access contact information for the RCSI Hospital Group on the HSE website.

Complaints Process

Complaints are managed in line with the:

• RCSI Hospital Group Policy and Procedure for the Management of Complaints (2022) and
• Your Service, Your Say Policy (HSE, 2017).

RCSI Hospital Group Policy and Procedure

The RCSI Hospital Group is committed to the provision of safe, effective, person-centred care that meets all relevant legislation and regulatory requirements and is in-keeping with best practice for patients, families and staff.

The RCSI Hospital Group values all feedback received from service users and endeavours to make improvements to services based on this feedback where possible.

The aim of the RCSI Hospital Group Policy and Procedure for the Management of Complaints is to provide a clear pathway for staff that outlines the appropriate and effective management of complaints, comments and feedback received from service users, in keeping with the ethos of the Hospital Group.

Click here to access a copy of the RCSI Hospital Group Policy and Procedure for the Management of Complaints

Your Service, Your Say Policy (HSE 2017)

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is committed to ensuring that feedback: comments, compliments and complaints from those using its services is acknowledged, reviewed, acted upon and responded to and that the learning from this feedback informs our quality improvement programmes. Effective handling of service user feedback is fundamental to the provision of a quality service. The YSYS policy supports healthcare staff in the effective handling of service user feedback.

Click here to access a copy of the Policy on the HSE website

Staff within the RCSI Hospital Group endeavour to resolve all complaints at the point where they occur and at the earliest opportunity.

What this means is that you should feel free to contact any member of staff with your complaint and expect them to assist you. If they cannot resolve your complaint, the staff member will refer you to somebody who can help you.

Verbal Complaints

• The RCSI Hospital Group supports a “No Wrong Door” approach to complaints.
• You can speak to any member of staff in a hospital about a complaint or concern.
• If your complaint or concern cannot be resolved at this point, the member of staff can involve a manager to discuss the issue with you. You can also request to speak with a manager.
• In the event that your complaint is not resolved, you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison/ Complaints Department in the hospital concerned.

In receipt of a written complaint or comment the hospital will:

• Acknowledge your communication.
• Respond to a written complaint within 30 working days, or keep you informed if this process takes longer.
• Monitor to ensure that your complaint is appropriately managed.
• Act on suggestions for improvement where appropriate.
• Pass on any feedback received to staff.

In the event that your complaint is not resolved

Contact the RCSI Hospital Group

If you are dissatisfied with the written response to your complaint you may apply for an Internal Review to the RCSI Hospital Group at the address beneath. Alternatively, you may contact the Office of the Ombudsman for an independent review of your complaint at this stage.

By writing to:

Chief Executive Officer, RCSI Hospital Group, 111 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2

By telephone:

01-4025156

Contact the Ombudsman

You can refer your complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman at any time. The Ombudsman is fair, independent, and free to use. The Ombudsman will ask you for details of your complaint. The best way to contact the Ombudsman is by: Clicking on the ‘Make A Complaint’ link at www.ombudsman.ie  

Address

Office of the Ombudsman, 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773

Telephone number
01 639 5600

You can contact The Office of the Ombudsman at any stage during the complaints process.

Please note that issues relating directly to clinical judgement lie outside the remit of this review process.

Ombudsman for Children

If your complaint concerns a child, then you can apply to the Ombudsman for Children for an independent review.  Click here to visit the website for Office of Ombudsman for Children.

Address

Ombudsman for Children’s Office, Millennium House
First Floor, 52-56 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1,
DO1 F5P8, Ireland

National Care Experience Programme – Surveys and RCSI Hospital Group Improvement Updates

The aim of the National Care Experience Programme is to ask people about their experiences of care in order to improve the quality of health and social care services across the country. Each hospital in RCSI Hospital Group has taken part in the National Care Experience Programme since it started in 2017.

The National Inpatient Experience Survey (NIES) is a nationwide survey asking patients about their recent experiences in hospital. The purpose of the survey is to learn from patients’ feedback in order to improve hospital care.

Click here to find the National Inpatient Experience Survey and the National Care Experience Programme.

RCSI Hospital Group Improvement Update

Following on from the survey, each acute hospital in the RCSI Hospital Group conducted an analysis of the feedback. Following this analysis a number of Quality Improvement (QI) projects have been developed by each hospital to improve patients’ experience and these QI projects are outlined beneath.

Click here to visit the National Care Experience Programme website.

On behalf of the RCSI Hospital Group, we would like to thank all the patients who participated in the National Inpatient Experience Survey. This feedback is invaluable in helping us to understand individual experiences and to assess our service performance against patient expectations, making improvements as required.

Hospital Updates

Beaumont Hospital

Click here to download information about Beaumont Quality Improvement Initiatives.

Cavan Monaghan Hospitals

Click here to download information about Cavan Monaghan Hospitals Quality Improvement Initiatives.

Connolly Hospital

Click here to download information about Connolly Hospital Quality Improvement Initiatives.

Louth Hospitals

Click here to download information about Louth Hospitals Quality Improvement Initiatives. 

RCSI Hospital Group

Click here to download information about RCSI Hospital Group Quality Improvement Initiatives.

Each hospital within the RCSI Hospital Group has an assigned Access Officer who can provide practical support to patients and clients with disabilities or who require additional assistance in accessing our services.

RCSI Hospital Group Access Officers

Click here to access contact information for the RCSI Hospital Group on the HSE website.

Quality and safe patient care is a priority for RCSI Hospital Group and it is committed to developing a strong safeguarding culture across all services.

Safeguarding Adults

“All adults have the right to be safe and to live a life free from harm. Safeguarding means putting measures in place to promote and protect peoples human rights and their health and wellbeing, and empowering people to protect themselves. It is fundamental to high-quality health & social care.”

HIQA, (2019) National Standards for Adult Safeguarding 

Click here to access the HIQA National Standards for Adult Safeguarding on the HIQA website.

HSE Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons at Risk of Abuse 2014

The HSE ‘Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons at Risk of Abuse’ – National Policy and Procedures, were published in 2014. This policy states that safeguarding is a “societal responsibility” and it applies to all HSE and HSE funded services for older persons and persons with a disability.

Click here to access the Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons at Risk of Abuse 2014 document on the HSE website.

The National Safeguarding Office

The National Safeguarding Office was established in December 2015 to oversee the implementation, monitoring, review, and ongoing evaluation of the 2014 Safeguarding Policy and coordinate the development and roll-out of safeguarding training. The National office subsequently established Safeguarding Ireland, a registered charity, to promote the safeguarding of adults who may be vulnerable, protect them from all forms of abuse by persons, organisations and institutions and develop a national plan for promoting their welfare. They aim to achieve this through promoting inter-sectoral collaboration, developing awareness and education, and undertaking research to inform policy, practice and legislation.  

Click here to visit the Safeguarding Ireland website.

Building on the 2014 policy, and with the support of the National Safeguarding Office, the HSE are committed to developing a National Safeguarding Policy in 2024/2025 and to developing an operating model and governance structure for safeguarding across all acute and community services providing care to all adults who may be at risk of abuse.

Safeguarding Children

“It is everyone’s responsibility to protect children and young people and to do our best to keep them safe. It is important that families, communities and professionals can recognise when a child or young person is being harmed and that they know what action to take in response.” Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017

Children First – Safeguarding children

Quality and safe patient care is a priority for the RCSI Hospital Group, committed to developing a strong safeguarding culture, across all services. This is especially important for the safeguarding and protection of children. The RCSI Hospital Group, across all hospital sites
aims to ensure full compliance with national legislation.

Click here to access the RCSI Hospital Group’s document, Children First – Safeguarding children, for more information about National Guidance, resources, Hospital Responsibilities and Statutory Obligations.

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 was signed into law in December 2015 and fully commenced in April 2023. The Act recognises that, as far as possible, all adults have the right to play an active role in decisions that affect them. These decisions can be about their personal welfare, including health and social care, and their property and affairs.

The 2015 Act brings about important changes and provides a statutory framework for people who may require support to make decisions and for anyone interacting with them. The act applies to everyone and is relevant to all health and social care services.

The 2015 Act sets out nine guiding principles for anyone interacting with a person who has difficulties with their decision-making capacity. These include:

• Presume every person has the capacity to make decisions about their life
• Support people as much as possible to make their own decisions
• Don’t assume a person lacks capacity just because of an unwise decision
• Only take action where it is really necessary
• Any action should be the least restriction on a person’s rights and freedoms
• Give effect to the person’s wishes, values and beliefs
• Consider the views of other people
• Think about how urgent the action is
• Use information appropriately

Click here to find out more about the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 on the HSE website.

Decision Support Service

The Decision Support Service is a public body established, within the Mental Health Commission, by the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.

The Decision Support Service is responsible for promoting public awareness of the 2015 Act and to provide information about their services. This includes providing information and guidance to people who may use this service and to their families. Their role is also to register the new decision support arrangements and supervise the individuals who are providing a range of supports to people with decision-making capacity difficulties.

Click here to visit the Decision Support Service website.

The RCSI Hospital Group has developed an Implementation Strategy for this new piece of legislation and is committed to supporting all staff with its implementation into practices across all of our hospitals.

Click here to watch an Assisted Decision Making, bespoke induction training video developed by the RCSI Hospital Group. This 12-minute video, accessed on YouTube, provides information about the guiding principles, implications for practice, functional capacity assessments and resources.