Patient and Client Council (Northern Ireland)

Summary

The Patient and Client Council’s role with respect to health and social care services is to:

• represent the interests of the public
• promote the involvement of the public;
• assist people making or intending to make a complaint through advocacy;
• promote the advice and information by HSC bodies to the public about the design, commissioning and delivery of services;
• undertake research into the best methods and practices for consulting and engaging the public.

Content

The Patient and Client Council’s Advocacy Service is here to support you through formal and informal processes in relation to issues you may have had with Health and Social Care.

This can include support during a Serious Adverse Incident Review. A Serious Adverse Incident is the formal term for when the provision or lack of treatment or care a person has received, has led to harm. That harm may be unexpected or unexplained and may result in serious injury or death. In these circumstances, it is important to ensure that learning is identified to determine what went wrong and ensure that changes are made.

The Patient and Client Council offer support to families involved in Serious Adverse Incident Reviews in their role as Independent Public Advocates.

The service is independent, confidential and free to use. You may contact the service at any stage. 

Independent Public Advocates are responsible for supporting those impacted by Serious Adverse Incident Reviews by:

• Understanding their needs and their interests.
• Providing support to ensure that individuals, family members and loved ones can understand the purpose of processes and the processes being undertaken
• Supporting individuals, family members and loved ones to be able to be fully involved in the process
• Providing support to those individuals, family members and loved ones who want it
• Engaging with other public bodies that are involved in the process, in the best interests of individuals, family members and loved ones

In order to fulfil its duties as an Independent Public Advocate, the Patient Client Council is independent of the other bodies involved in the process (e.g.: the HSCB, Trusts, NIAS, RQIA etc.). However, the Patient Client Council works closely with these bodies in order to help communicate the views of individuals, family members and loved ones.

The Patient and Client Council can also assist you if you are unhappy with the outcome of a process or review or the way in which it was conducted and can assist you to make a complaint to a Health and Social Care organisation or a submission to the Ombudsman.