Individual Health Advocacy Service
How to Make a Complaint
If you’re unhappy with the medical care and treatment you, or someone you care for, have received, or if you think your rights were not met, you can make a complaint.
It is usually best to try to resolve the problem directly with the doctor, clinic, hospital, or health provider. If you prefer, you can ask a family member or friend to make the complaint for you.
The resources below can help you do this.
If you need further support to make a complaint, or you need support in resolving the issue, please contact us to speak to an advocate.
Video: Healthcare complaints – Where to start
Learn more about your healthcare rights and the best way to resolve your issue (3 mins)
Video: Tips for making a healthcare complaint
Practical tips for making a healthcare complaint (3 mins)
Video: Taking it further
Learn about different healthcare complaints organisations that you can take your complaint to if you need additional support (3 mins)
Help to make a complaint
Where possible, it can be helpful to make your complaint in writing.
We have put together some information sheets and examples to help you get started.
Information Sheet – Hospital Complaint
Information Sheet – GP or Clinic Complaints
How to Write a Complaint Letter
There are two ways you can have your complaint heard and responded to.
Share your experience on Care Opinion
Care Opinion is an online platform where you can share your experiences, good or bad, and they will be read by management at the hospital. Anything you write on Care Opinion can been seen publicly by anyone visiting the website, but your details will not be shared. This means that you can also read about other people’s experiences at the same hospital.
You will usually receive a response from the hospital within 72 hours of sharing your experience. In some cases, they will ask you to call them to provide further details.
Find out more about how to share your experience on Care Opinion.
Contact the hospital directly
Every hospital in WA has a feedback department. Sometimes they are called the Consumer Liaison department, or the Patient Feedback service.
The people working in this department can speak to you about your issue, make a formal record of your complaint, and ensure it is investigated and responded to.
You can email, call, or mail a complaint to these departments, and some have an online form to fill in. If you call them to make your complaint, we recommend you request a copy of your complaint in writing, and ask for the response in writing as well.
You can also request a meeting with the doctor or other health professional/s who was involved.
A full list of public hospital feedback departments and their contact details is available here.
If you are making a complaint to a rural hospital, you can find list of regions and contact details here.
The phone numbers for all of WA’s private hospitals are available here.
There are two ways you can have your complaint heard and responded to.
Speak to the Practice Manager
Every GP practice or clinic should have a practice manager, and this is the person who will oversee all feedback and communications.
You can call your clinic or GP practice and ask to speak to the practice manager, or you can call the clinic and ask for the name and contact details of the practice manager so that you can make your complaint in writing.
Contact the Health and Disability Service Complaints Office (HaDSCO) and/or the Australian Health Practitioners Register of Australia (AHPRA)
HaDSCO is the overarching body for all health and disability service complaints in WA.
They can negotiate with health service providers to provide explanations, apologies, changes in policy, refunds, access to services, education for the medical professionals and conciliation.
Before you contact HaDSCO, you need to have already made a complaint to the doctor or clinic. We recommend including a copy of any communications you’ve had with the health service when you contact HaDSCO. Include as much information as you can when you contact HaDSCO.
Make a complaint to HaDSCO here.
HaDSCO will also communicate with AHPRA if required.
AHPRA is the overarching body for all health professionals in Australia. They handle registrations and concerns/notifications regarding specific health practitioners.
AHPRA is not able to get an apology or recognition from the medical professional, but they are able to investigate and put conditions on a professional’s practice, suspend or terminate their registration, and implement other disciplinary actions.
What to expect after you make complaint
When you make a complaint, you can expect it to be acknowledged and receive a response in a timely manner.
When making a complaint to a public hospital:
- Your complaint should be acknowledged within five working days.
- The issues you raise should be looked into within 30 working days, along with ways to address your concerns.
- If the matter cannot be resolved within three months, it will be escalated within the service.
- If there are delays, the service will let you know.
If your complaint is about your private health insurer
Try to discuss the issue directly with your health insurer or provider.
If you are unhappy with their response, you may be able to request that the issue is reviewed internally by the provider.
If you are still unable to resolve the issue, you can make a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman in writing, online, or by calling 1300 362 072.
How HCC can help
You can contact us at any point if you would like assistance with your complaint and its resolution.
We are not a complaints management service, but we do offer support in navigating the existing complaint systems for WA health consumers.
