Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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449. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the time required to go through the complaints procedure in the Health Information and Quality Authority, from receipt of complaint to investigation and resolution; and the number of complaints dealt with since the authority’s inception in 2007. [7948/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The functions of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), which was established by the Health Act 2007, do not include a statutory complaints function with regard to the delivery of health and social services. While HIQA does not have the power to investigate individual complaints, it does review all information or concerns about services it receives and directs people to the best place to get help, advice, information and support. HIQA takes into account and uses all information received to inform and plan its regulatory activity and information on individual cases can provide useful pointers in this context. If there is a serious risk to the health and welfare of service users, the Authority may decide to take appropriate action in relation to that service.

All nursing homes are required to have an accessible and effective complaints procedure, including an appeals process. They must investigate all complaints promptly and, following investigation, put in place any measures required for improvement. Records of complaints made are required to be kept. These are available for inspection thus enabling HIQA to determine whether the complaints system is sufficiently robust.