Unhappy with your healthcare?

Making a complaint about a health service

From the Queensland Health website:

Steps in making a complaint

Go local first: contact the hospital, facility or service in question. Talking to the Nurse Manager, doctor or health professional of the area is often the easiest and quickest way to resolve the problem. Every health service has a feedback process you can follow if you are unhappy with the care you have received. Complaints are an important way for services to identify how to improve and prevent the same issues happening again.

Act quickly: talk to someone as soon as possible, as the longer you wait the less clear the facts become and the harder it can be to find a solution.

Make it clear:

  • describe the incident
  • explain the order which things happened
  • include dates where possible
  • list any phone calls, letters or meetings
  • explain what action you would like the health service to take.

Make a formal complaint: If you do not wish to talk about your concerns with local staff or they have not been able to address your concerns, you can make a formal complaint. A complaint can be made in person, by phone, or in writing. The formal complaint process depends on whether you are complaining about a private or a public health service.

Read more on the Queensland Health website

The Office of the Health Ombudsman, Queensland’s health service complaints agency, also has useful information on making complaints about a health service. Some of this information is in easy English or in other languages.

The Health Ombudsman’s tips for talking with your health service provider is especially useful and gives clear, practical advice on topics such as how to raise a complaint, preparing to contact your provider, and emailing your provider.

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What are we not able to assist with?

Health Consumers Queensland works to improve health care deliver at a systems level. Unfortunately, we are not able to assist with individual complaints or one-on-one advocacy. However, the information on this page may help you if you are looking for support with a problem with a health service.