QUEENSLAND HEALTH CARE & MEDICAL COMPLAINTS SOLICITORS
Legal Helpline QLD: ☎ 1800 633 090
If you are dissatisfied with the level of care or treatment you have received by a medical doctor, nurse, hospital or other healthcare professional, or you are concerned about a medical error or doctor error, you have the right to complain.
If you need to speak with a solicitor for guidance or information regarding a hospital complaint or doctor complaint, then call our legal helpline.
The Australian Government commits to international agreements about human rights which recognise everyone’s right to have the highest possible standard of health. You have the right to receive safe and high quality health services, provided with professional care, skill and competence. You have the right to be included in decisions and choices about your health care.
In Queensland, complaints can be about services provided by registered practitioners (e.g. doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists) and unregistered practitioners (e.g. naturopaths, hypnotherapists, acupuncturists) as well as hospitals and other healthcare organisations.
You have the right to complain about:
- Poor standards of care.
- Conduct or behaviour of the health care practitioner.
- Unethical behaviour.
Health Quality and Complaints Commission
If you are concerned about your health care, you may wish to talk to your healthcare provider as soon as possible. If you are uncomfortable about talking to your healthcare provider, or if you are unhappy about their response, you can contact the Queensland Health Quality and Complaints Commission (HQCC) and advise them of your concerns.
The HQCC was established on 1 July 2006 under the Health Quality and Complaints Commission Act 2006 following heightened community concern about events at Bundaberg Base Hospital.
The HQCC is an independent government body which has the power to investigate and conciliate health care complaints. In 2008-09, the HQCC received 2,177 enquiries and 2,534 complaints. However only 3% of complaints were deemed serious enough to be referred to the investigation team (Source: HQCC Annual Report 2008-09).
The most complained about healthcare providers were public hospitals, followed by medical doctors, medical centres, allied health (such as chiropractors, physiotherapists, optometrists, pharmacists, psychologists), private hospitals, dentists, and nurses.
Complaints Process
Once you have lodged a complaint with the HQCC, they will contact you to discuss your matter, and they will send a copy of the complaint to your health care provider, asking them to make a submission in response to your complaint. Possible outcomes from this process include:
• The healthcare provider gives you a full explanation of what happened and why.
• They commit to fixing the problem, for example, a hospital may implement improved protocols.
• The healthcare provider may apologise.
• You and the provider agree that nothing can be proven and nothing further should be done.
If the complaint still isn’t resolved, the HQCC will assess your matter to decide whether to take further action, or to close your file. They will close your file if they feel your complaint is lacking in substance, frivolous, or has already been adequately dealt with by them or by another authority. If however after assessment, the HQCC decide that further action needs to be taken, they will conciliate or investigate the complaint, or refer the complaint to the registration board for them to deal with, or refer the complaint to an employer to take appropriate action.
Conciliation
Conciliation is one option offered by the HQCC to resolve your complaint. During conciliation, both you and the health care provider can speak openly and directly to attempt to achieve a resolution. What is discussed during conciliation remains confidential, and you will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement before the start of the conciliation. The HQCC can recommend that you try conciliation, but you are not required to take part in it. If you do decide to take part in conciliation, you can choose to have a lawyer present.
As a result of conciliation, you may receive answers to your questions, and possibly an apology. Through listening to you and discussing your complaint, a healthcare provider may recognise problems with their processes or policies and then undertake to correct them. This can prevent the same thing happening to someone else, as well as improve the quality of the health service.
Sometimes however, conciliation ends with no agreement between the parties, and the person who has made a complaint feels that they have not been adequately heard. If an agreement through conciliation can’t be reached, the HQCC will then make a decision to either refer the complaint to a registration board, or to continue investigating the matter, or to close your file and take no further action. One important thing to note is that the HQCC does not provide you with legal advice. So if you are unsure of your rights, you should consider contacting a solicitor.
Time Limits
The HQCC operates on strict time frames, and you should contact them for advice as to how long you have to lodge a complaint. A solicitor can also provide you with this advice. If you would like to speak with a solicitor, please call ☎ 1800 633 090.
Doctor Complaints
Sometimes the HQCC will refer the matter to another organisation that has the authority to deal with the complaint, such as the Medical Board of Queensland. The QLD Medical Board upholds the standards of practice within the medical profession by deciding who is qualified and fit to practise medicine and by dealing with concerns about medical practitioners’ conduct, professional performance, or their health, if this is impacting on their ability to practice. There are similar Boards for other professionals such as dentists, psychologists, nurses and midwives.
The medical board can investigate complaints against general practitioners and medical specialists such as surgeons, anaesthetists, gynaecologists, obstetricians, ophthalmologists, gastroenterologists, dermatologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, paediatricians, endocrinologists, urologists, cardiologists, oncologists, orthopaedic surgeons, radiologists etc.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, the medical professional may be given a caution, reprimanded, have conditions imposed on their licence to practice, fined or de-registered.
If you need advice on how to lodge a complaint with the Medical Board, you may wish to speak with a Queensland solicitor who works in the area of health law.
Hospital Complaints
If you wish to complain about a Queensland Hospital, you can contact the HQCC. The HQCC deals with complaints regarding both Public and Private Hospitals.
You can also make a complaint with the Queensland Health Department in relation to a Public Hospital. The feedback received from consumers provides Queensland Health with the opportunity to improve health services across the State. You can complain the the Health Department about any one of the public hospitals in any of the QLD health districts:
Cairns and Hinterland Health Service District
Central Queensland Health Service District
Mackay Health Service District
Mount Isa Health Service District
Princess Alexandra Hospital Heath Service District
Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital Health Service District
Royal Children's Hospital and Health Service District
Southside Health Service District
The Park - Centre for Mental Health
The Prince Charles Hospital Health Service District
Townsville Health Service District
Wide Bay Health Service District
We are not a law firm, but an information referral service, and we can put you in touch with solicitors who work in the area of health care complaints.
For information call our legal team for assistance.
Contact Us
Legal Helpline QLD: ☎ 1800 633 090
We are a referral service; not a law firm. As per the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (QLD) nothing on this website should be considered to be an advertisement for the provision of medical negligence compensation or personal injury services in Queensland. The solicitors whom we refer to assist clients in filing consumer health care complaints with the relevant authorities. Most cases are handled on a ‘pro bono’ basis.