Lucky Lidl voucher winner

CONGRATULATIONS to Susanne O’Sullivan from Carnew who was the winner of a Lidl shopping voucher in the recent Christmas giveaway in this newspaper.

I was in hospital recently and I was not happy with my experience there. When I complained to the nurse in charge, I wasn’t satisfied with the response. How can I take my complaint further?

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) has a complaints system, called ‘Your Service Your Say’, that you can use to make a complaint about your experience of a service provided by the HSE or on behalf of the HSE.

If you want to make a complaint about a public hospital to the HSE, you can get support from the new Patient Advocacy Service to help you make your complaint.

The Patient Advocacy Service is fully independent of the HSE. It is a free and confidential service that provides information and support to people who want to make a formal complaint about an experience they have had in a public acute hospital.

The Patient Advocacy Service provides support by phone helpline, on 0818 293003, and on its website, patientadvocacyservice. ie, where you can find information and a contact form.

The service can explain how to make a formal complaint, including what you should include in your complaint and how to write it.

If there is a delay with the processing of the complaint or if you are not satisfied with the outcome, the Patient Advocacy Service can give you information about your options.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centre below.