THE PATIENT Advocacy Service, a national body set up to investigate issues raised by patients and their families about care services in Ireland, has dealt with almost 400 complaints in the Mid West since its foundation five years ago – 355 of them concerning University Hospital Limerick.
The Limerick Post has learned that since the service was set up in 2019, it has handled 355 issues raised by dissatisfied patients of University Hospital Limerick (UHL).
The national advocacy body took private nursing homes under their remit in late 2022 and since then have received 27 complaints nationwide, two of which involved HSE-operated nursing homes.
Figures released by the service to mark its fifth anniversary show that it has supported over 6,500 people since its work first began.
The Patient Advocacy Service, commissioned by the Department of Health, says is has “seen a year-on-year increase in people seeking independent advocacy support”.
In its first year, 2019, the service supported 65 people in making a complaint, increasing to 2,012 people in 2023. It is on track to see a further increase in complaints in 2024.
The primary areas of concern for patients and nursing home residents include anxieties acknowledged but not addressed; improper monitoring; staff not communicating care plans; chasing health service departments for an appointment; and aspects of care plans being overlooked.
The service currently has offices in Dublin, Cork, and Galway, with advocates available throughout the country and plans to continue with phased growth over the coming years.
In the past five years, the Patient Advocacy Service has provided information and advice to over 6,500 patients, nursing home residents, and their families in relation to complaints about the care they received in a public acute hospital or nursing home.
The organisation says that its advocates provided one-to-one empowerment advocacy in over 700 cases, supporting people to navigate complex complaints and incident management processes.
Advocates provide support to ensure those impacted understand their rights, their voice is heard, and they are kept central to the processes.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that “the past five years have demonstrated the vital role independent advocacy plays following a patient safety incident and in facilitating complaints when people are not happy with their care”.
“It helps to foster a culture of transparency, accountability, compassion, learning, and open disclosure within our acute hospitals and nursing homes.”
