HSAN is a national authority which assesses
medical negligence. If health care staff are at fault, the Board can take
disciplinary action against them. The Board is made up of nine members.
The chairman is a lawyer with judicial experience and the other members
have experience from various sectors of the health services.
Who can file a complaint?
Anyone who is or has been a patient can file a
complaint to HSAN. If the patient him/herself is incapable of filing the
complaint, it may be filed by a close relative. However, if the patient
is able to file a complaint themselves, no complaint(s) will be accepted
from a close relative. Close relatives include husbands/wives, partners,
children, parents and siblings. Any person entitled to make a complaint
may also appoint someone else to act on their behalf by assigning power
of attorney.
The National Board of Health and Welfare, the Parliamentary Ombudsman and
the Chancellor of Justice can also file complaints to HSAN.
What form should the complaint take?
The complaint must be an original, signed
copy in writing.
The complaint can be made on a special
form, yet this is not an absolute requirement.
The complaint must contain details of
the actual examination, care or treatment referred to, when and where
it took place and, if possible, who was at fault and what you consider
the fault to be.
HSAN must be informed of the subject of complaint
within two years of the incident's occurance. If this is not the case, disciplinary
responsibility will have lapsed.
Your complaint to HSAN is in principal public, but
it may be declared confidential in exceptional circumstances. HSAN's decisions are
always public. In all other respects, normal rules of medical confidentiality apply.
How is your complaint dealt with?
HSAN normally passes your complaint on to the person(s)
you have cited. They are given the opportunity to express their views on the matter.
You are subsequently given the opportunity to respond to what they have said.
HSAN normally obtains a copy of your patient records.
You can withdraw your complaint at any time, e.g. if the investigation has provided
you with a satisfactory explanation of what happened.
When a case has been prepared it is reviewed by medical
experts with links to HSAN. HSAN subsequently examines the case and arrives at a decision.
Certain cases are examined by the chairman alone following a review by medical experts.
Copies of the decision are sent both to the person who filed the complaint and those to
the person(s) cited.
If the person filing the complaint is not happy with the
decision, it may be appealed. The appeal must be lodged within the time specified in the
decision (three weeks from the date the decision is made public). Late appeals will not
be accepted.
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