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Health Boards - Case Summaries 1999

Health Boards - Case Summaries 1999

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OMBUDSMAN 1999

24 May 2000

In 1999 the Ombudsman received 387 valid complaints against the eight health boards. This figure shows a decrease of 20% over the 1998 figure for health board complaints. In addition to the 387 valid complaints received in 1999, there were 117 health board complaints on hands at the start of the year. This meant there was a total of 504 complaints against the health boards to be dealt with during 1999. Of this 504, the Ombudsman completed his examination in the case of 384 complaints. The outcome in relation to the 384 completed cases was: 50 complaints resolved and 13 cases partially resolved; assistance was provided in 69 cases; 191 cases were not upheld and 61 cases were either withdrawn or discontinued.

Amongst the cases in relation to the health boards, highlighted by the Ombudsman in his 1999 Annual Report, are the following:

o The North Western Health Board made a payment of �1,000 to a man who complained that the Board had failed to give him adequate support in caring at home for his elderly, sick parents. There were a number of separate issues raised and the Ombudsman felt that, taking everything together, the man had been adversely affected by the actions of the Board.

o The Eastern Health Board paid compensation of �7,000 to the operators of a coffee shop who claimed they had been given incorrect information by the Board regarding compliance with the Food Hygiene Regulations. The complainants incurred unexpected costs in order to comply with the requirements of the Regulations. The Ombudsman felt that the complainants had been adversely affected by the actions of the Board and that financial compensation was the appropriate remedy.

o The Eastern Health Board changed its financial arrangements with foster parents following a particular complaint to the Ombudsman. The complainant understood that, in addition to being paid a weekly foster allowance, the Board would also meet any additional costs incurred by the foster parent. In this case, the foster child travelled to school by bus and there were travel costs involved. Whereas the Board did pay the weekly travel costs, it deducted an amount of �3 per week from the basic foster allowance. There was no provision for this in the foster care contract and it meant that the foster parent was subsidising the travel costs by �3 per week. The Board accepted the Ombudsman's conclusion that the practice was not justifiable and paid appropriate arrears in this and other such cases.

The full text of this Press Release with relevant hyperlinks to the Annual Report is available on the Ombudsman's Internet site at http://www.irlgov.ie/ombudsman/23a6_156.htm A detailed press release is also available at http://www.irlgov.ie/ombudsman/2396_156.htm The complete Annual Report is published at http://www.irlgov.ie/ombudsman/report99/pub.htm