Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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433. To ask the Minister for Health the status of legislation promised by the former Minister for Health to extend the powers of the Ombudsman to deal with complaints by hospital patients that remain unresolved following interaction with health service providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50446/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The functions and powers of the Ombudsman are set out under the Ombudsman Act 1980, and responsibility for the Office of the Ombudsman comes under the aegis of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The Ombudsman published a report in 2015 entitled "Learning to Get Better - An investigation by the Ombudsman into how public hospitals handle complaints". One of the recommendations in that report was that "Consideration should be given on a wider front to amending the statutory complaints process (and the remit of the Ombudsman) to allow for the inclusion of clinical judgement as the subject about which a complaint can be made". Under current legislation the Ombudsman cannot examine complaints which relate to a person acting on behalf of the HSE and which, in his opinion, relate solely to the exercise of clinical judgement in the diagnosis or care or treatment of a patient. However, the Ombudsman can examine the administrative actions of healthcare professionals and administrators taken in the course of clinical work which do not involve clinical judgement.

My department is currently developing a Patient Safety Complaints and Advocacy Policy. Work to date has included an examination of both national and international experience of the management of patient safety complaints and the legal frameworks involved. In addition a national public consultation took place in May and June of this year. This public consultation exercise was open to the public, patients, users, staff and relevant organisations. In total, 174 submissions were received. Meetings have also taken place with 23 key stakeholders, representing a broad spectrum of interested parties, including patient organisations, service providers, the Ombudsman's office, service regulators and professional regulators. The policy will be finalised shortly.