NI ombudsman suggests letting hospitals apologise
The British government should consider Australian-style reforms to enable hospitals to apologise for mistakes without fear of litigation, Northern Ireland’s Ombudsman Tom Frawley said today.
Following the publication of his office’s annual report on complaints it has investigated over the years, Mr Frawley said there tended to be a culture of no admission in the health service because medical professionals feared to do so could result in legal action.
“This culture exists because people suspect saying sorry would make them more vulnerable to legal action,” he said.
“There is concern that it is an admission of liability and that people are only interested in litigation.
“But in reality an apology is what complainants often want. They would like the medical profession to hold their hands up and rectify anything that has gone wrong.
“In Australia, legislation has enabled hospitals to apologise without making them liable for prosecution.
“I think that is an issue which the Stormont Assembly could address when it returns.”
Complaints against government departments through the Assembly Ombudsman’s office rose by three on last year’s figure, with 281 received by the Assembly Ombudsman.
The majority were on planning issues, with complaints about benefits, roads, personnel and child support among the highest categories.
Mr Frawley said the absence of third-party appeals for planning issues meant his office often received complaints.
Complaints against councils and public bodies such as the Housing Executive, housing associations, education authorities and health and social services fell by 77 cases on the previous year.
However the Housing Executive continued to receive the bulk of complaints through the Commissioner for Complaints, despite falling from 144 cases out of a total of 337 last year to 100 out of a total of 260 cases.
There continued to be a drop in the complaints received by the office about health services, with 74 received last year, 20 fewer than the previous year.
The majority were about acute and mental health services, followed by social work.
The removal by GPs of patients from their lists continued to receive complaints.
The Eastern Health and Social Services Board was also asked by the Ombudsman to issue an apology and make a £600 (€901.30) consolatory payment to a person who complained about speech and language therapy for his son.
Mr Frawley urged public bodies to consider how the cases outlined in his report could apply to their own organisations and to move beyond written standards of service.
“A commitment to maintaining standards on paper is important but written standards are insufficient in themselves,” he said.
“Rather, we need to move to a point where such standards and values are lived out by all those who have responsibility to provide public services.
“For the daily reality is that it is often not those in senior positions who meet the public but those on the frontline of service provision.
“Among these public servants I see some wonderful examples of the very highest standards and values at work, but there are also examples where the public is justifiably frustrated that the standards on paper are not reflected in practice.”
