The latest Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) quarterly performance report shows that 1575 complaints were made to the Queensland health service complaints agency between January and March.

Health Ombudsman Leon Atkinson-MacEwen said that most complaint issues related to professional performance (42%), medication (13%) and communication (13%).

Mr Atkinson-MacEwen said that 2016-17 was proving to be a year of consolidation for the OHO.

“The results from our latest quarterly performance report for Q3 2017 are a reflection of the significant improvements we’ve made to our systems and processes,” Mr Atkinson-MacEwen said.

“As I said at the start of this financial year, 2016-17 would be a year of consolidation for the OHO and this is reflected in the results from our latest quarterly performance report.”

Key highlights from the Q3 report include:

• percentage of complaints accepted within seven days—91% in Q3 2017 compared with 67% in Q3 2016
• percentage of assessments completed within legislated timeframes—68% in Q3 2017 compared with 36% in Q3 2016
• total complaint decisions made—1484 in Q3 2017 compared with 1413 in Q3 2016
• 43 investigations closed
• contacts received so far this is 16% higher than last year.

Mr Atkinson-MacEwen said complaints serve a positive purpose by identifying areas for improvement and stopping similar problems from happening to others.

For more information, or to view the performance report in full, visit www.oho.qld.gov.au

—ENDS

media@oho.qld.gov.au 0427 483 656