In todays paper HIQA tells us of inspection and regulation of residential care.
http://shr.gs/42pnBHD
But what of disabled people being cared for in the community by the HSE primary care teams (PCT's)? How good is primary care? who regulates it? who inspects it? where does the service -user/client/patient go when things 'go wrong'?
the answer to that is HSE 'community care' is largely unregulated, un-inspected, have free reign to just 'do what they like'.
Service-users do have a complaints mechanism in 'your service - your say' but 'investigators' of complaints are not trained, not independent and are invariably the line managers of staff you are complaining about. Its designed, conveniently so. For the 'conflict of interest' protects the HSE staff - not you!
In these cases no line manager is willing to sanction his/her own team member. 'The bonds of brotherhood/sisterhood' (to borrow a phrase from the clergy abuse sector) are strong and difficult to break sufficiently to sanction or improve practice. or to offer JUSTICE to he complaining service - user.
in essence, this set up means you have no hope in hell for justice as professionals 'close ranks' against the client.
I am sufficiently knowledgeable, given I am a service user who HAS complained, to know the outcomes of a complaint against the HSE services in community.
Having complained - as is my right - about several aspects of my care as an adult with a Rare Neuro-muscular disease I have been scapegoated, vilified, denied service and demonised throughout the HSE hierarchy for daring to complain. Ditto, my twin, who has been, arguably treated infinitely worse.
The vilification is not 'kept local' either, it travels the length and breath of the HSE Hierarchy, and even disseminated to TDs and Ministers who might enquire about the service users complaints.
Thereafter TDs and Ministers drop you like a hot coal.
when obtaining our notes under the Freedom of information act (FOI) we discovered therein that we had BOTH been called 'serial complainers'. http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi-1OyOyp7UAhUFLsAKHZkcCw8QFggkMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.herald.ie%2Fnews%2Fcalling-disabled-twins-serial-complainers-is-unacceptable-says-td-35401611.html&usg=AFQjCNHQq3l5pepvmirlESgzkIvhv7qeKQ
We then complained again under 'Your say-your service' arguing we had RIGHTS to complain. That in fact, we did have genuine complaints to make, they were NOT vexatious.
The complaint was investigated by an independent investigator (this was unusual and the only complaint to be farmed out to an independent investigator - he was a former ombudsman) who upheld my complaint and robustly castigated the HSE. Robustly.
He recommended the HSE apologise, 'own responsibility' and mediate' to improve matters. the first has happened the last two are bogged down in HSE resistance, prevarication, and blocking.
the independent investigator castigated the HSE for chaos of complaints processes, poor, inadequate training of the HSE manager who first called us serial complainers' and a total absence of upholding our 'right to complain' and 'natural justice':
The references
made by Ms [name of manager] in the email of 20th December 2012 were sweeping
in nature and without an opportunity for either sister to comment or
make any representations in the matter. (B investigation 14th
January 2015)
We had not been afforded 'natural justice'.
This is endemic in the HSE . Community living under the HSE for disabled, ill, older people is a veritable nightmare.
You, as client, have no protections. Everybody knows it, Silence is coerced by fears of 'punishment' and withdrawal of care needed. Everyone knows this too, but few challenge it for fear of the repercussions. and there ARE repercussions.
The patient 'grapevine' is scathing and often critical and angry regarding how they are treated by HSE PCT's. We are not the only patients in conflict with a powerfully 'abusive' mafia-like health care body.
'Rights' and 'due process' (such as a 'right of reply' or 'representation') are not observed, are treated with derision and unnecessary as the HSE seek to demonise patients who complain. "how dare they?"
Services ARE withdrawn or not given. In fact the HSE have full permission by the patently inadequate, self-serving complaints procedures to say what they like of the complaining client ...and believe me, they do!
It takes either courage, guts or stupidity to take on this Mafiosi
Many are too afraid to do it.
excellent and measured blog Dr. Margaret Kennedy. it is true, what is a worrying factor though being - once labelled anything you will and are demonised for life. we cannot transcend it, nor will they get over it. many things remain very unprofessional. Of course more findings on files means more has been complained about, but alas, they ignore these now, even if official complaints, i have a list going back to beginning of last year or longer and not a word since from them, this against their own policy of complaints process, but this is a way of brushing it under the carpet. its a war zone and its not one you enter knowing you are entering a war zone. You do not begin to say 'no' because you are bloody minded, certainly you will say 'no' if you feel you are justified, what you never expect, alas, their way of dealing with "NO" is far from what you expect.
ReplyDeletea rejection of ideas, plans, proceedures, dodgy gizmos and practise is met with bitter resentment, alienation of the person, anihilation and name calling and alas abuse of power.
it goes up the chain forever.
investigations are done without all reports being in. Investigations are completed without the complainent being interviewed, and investigations are done by a person investigating her own actions which is the most bizarre piece of investigation i have ever come across, apart from not interviewing the person who put in the complaint on another matter but interviewing all and sundry but not the person who complained.
HIQA is thought to only make public certain reviews of estabilishments, this has to be examined why this is so.
but far more urgent now is when independent living is the way to go and more community care, the community care must be monitered and carefully monitered for best practise.