Queensland is leading the nation when it comes to the management of health service complaints and protection of public health and safety, the state’s Health Ombudsman Leon Atkinson-MacEwen said today.

Mr Atkinson-MacEwen said health service complaints to the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) rose for the third year in a row with 6201 complaints made to the OHO in 2016–17, up 14 per cent on the previous year.

Professional performance (3921), poor communication (1243) and medication (1065) accounted for the bulk of the 9295 issues raised by complainants in 2016–17.

General practitioners (2035) were the most complained-about practitioners, followed by nurses (627) and medical specialists (467). Whereas, public hospitals (1645), correctional facilities (999) and private hospitals (267) attracted the most complaints based on organisation-type.

Mr Atkinson-MacEwen praised the staff of the OHO and their ongoing commitment to improving internal systems and processes to deliver better quality outcomes for the people of Queensland.

“I am immensely proud of my staff. They have dealt with an ever-rising workload with good humour and dedication, while never compromising their focus on ensuring that Queenslanders receive health services that are safe and delivered in a reasonable manner,” Mr Atkinson-MacEwen said.

Highlights from the 2016–17 annual report include:

• 10,262 contacts received—up 9 per cent on 2015–16
• 4294 decisions made within seven days—1885 more than in 2015–16
• 1262 assessments completed within legislative timeframes—649 more than in 2015–16
• 209 investigations closed—46 more than in 2015–16
• 51 immediate registration actions taken
• 26 interim prohibition orders issued.

For more information, or to view the 2016-17 annual report in full, visit www.oho.qld.gov.au

—ENDS

Media enquires:

media@oho.qld.gov.au

0427 483 656