Patient Advocacy Service

You can get independent, free and confidential information, advice, advocacy and support to make a complaint about certain health services from the Patient Advocacy Service (PAS).

PAS can also support you with a patient safety incident (see below).

What kind of complaints does PAS support?

PAS can advise and support you to make a complaint about your experience in a:

• HSE-funded public acute hospital
• Nursing home

The PAS website explains how to make a complaint, including what you should include in your complaint, and how to write it.

If you make a complaint, the Patient Advocacy Service can also explain your options if there is a delay with the complaint or if you are not satisfied with the outcome.

You can get support by phoning the Patient Advocacy Service helpline, on 0818 293003.

You can also visit the PAS website for information and a contact form.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) provides publicly funded health and social care services. The Patient Advocacy Service is fully independent of the HSE.

PAS can support you in making a complaint to the HSE using the HSE complaints system, Your service your say.

How to make a complaint about HSE public acute hospital

If you want to make a complaint about your experience in a HSE-funded public acute hospital, use the PAS’s step-by-step guide on how to complain to the HSE. The guide also explains when to expect a response.

PAS can also give information and support to help you with the complaints process. Read more on the PAS website.

If you want to make a complaint about your experience in a public or private nursing home, the Patient Advocacy Service has a step-by-step guide on how to complain about a nursing home, and when to expect a response at each stage.

PAS can also give information and support to help you with the complaints process. Read more on the PAS website.

2022 expansion of PAS

Since 1 November 2022, the Patient Advocacy Service can also advise and support you with complaints about private nursing homes.

If you experience or could have experienced an unintended or unexpected injury or harm when you received healthcare, this is called a patient safety incident.

You are entitled to independent advocacy support from PAS if you experience a patient safety incident through an investigation process.

You can read more about patient safety incidents and the implementation of the Open Disclosure Framework from the HSE.

You can read more about Patient Safety Legislation and Advocacy on gov.ie