The Patient Advocacy Service, today celebrates its five-year anniversary, marking an important milestone in its efforts to support patients of acute hospitals and nursing home residents with complaints about their care and following a patient safety incident. The Service has supported over 6,500 patients and nursing home residents since it was established in 2019.
The Service has seen a year-on-year increase in people seeking independent advocacy support. In its first year of service in 2019, the service supported 65 people to make a complaint, increasing to 2,012 people in 2023 and on track to increase further in 2024.
The primary areas of concern for patients and residents are anxieties acknowledged but not addressed, patients and residents not being monitored properly, staff not communicating care plans, chasing health service departments for an appointment and aspects of care plans being overlooked.
The Patient Advocacy Service has developed significantly in the last five years and has increased its capacity to meet the growing need for independent advocacy. The Service now has offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway, with Advocates available throughout the country and will continue this phased growth over the coming years.
Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, said:
“I would like to congratulate the Patient Advocacy Service on its five-year anniversary.
”The extension of the Patient Advocacy Service to all nursing homes during my time as Minister for Mental Health and Older People has been a significant development. It has been hugely important in strengthening the rights of all nursing home residents and their families and placing greater emphasis on the voice and choice of residents. It is heartening to see the level of engagement with the service; approximately 540 enquiries in relation to nursing homes have been made since October 2019.
”I commend the invaluable support the Patient Advocacy Service has provided to nursing home residents and their families during challenging times over the past five years and look forward to its further expansion into mental health services.”
People we have supported
Christine and Fergus share their experience of working with the Patient Advocacy Service, the supports they received and the learning from their complaints.
“Christine’s Story”
Christine had recently given birth and was unhappy with the care and treatment she had received at her local maternity hospital. Christine received support from an Advocate to make a complaint to the hospital and shares her experience of working with the Patient Advocacy Service.
“Fergus’s Story”
Fergus had recently attended the Emergency Department of his local hospital and was unhappy with the way he was treated while there. Fergus received support from an Advocate to make a complaint to the hospital and shares his experience of working with the Patient Advocacy Service.
Our Commitment
Georgina Cruise, National Manager of the Patient Advocacy Service, said:
“The Patient Advocacy Service is committed to providing independent advocacy to empower patients in public acute hospitals and residents in nursing homes to uphold their rights and have their voice, will and preference heard and be at the centre of the complaints and the incident review process. Through elevating the voice of the patient and resident and supporting them to share their lived experience, the Patient Advocacy Service seeks to encourage patient partnership, empathy, openness, transparency and accountability, and promote a culture of learning and improved patient safety.”
The management of the Patient Advocacy Service would like to express thanks to the staff of the Service, the Board of the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities and our funders, the Department of Health, for their continued support