Complaint

A young person in care made a complaint to the Ombudsman for Children about how he was treated when he had complained about a serious incident that had occurred in his residential unit.

While the incident itself had been resolved at local level following the OCO’s intervention, the young person told the OCO that they felt unhappy with the response received which they believed was to blame them for the incident which took place.

The young person indicated that their desire in complaining to the OCO was that the relevant staff be made aware of their responsibility in the particular matter, for staff to be told that they had acted improperly in that regard and in subsequently attributing blame for the incident to the young person.

Of particular interest to the Ombudsman for Children’s Office, in relation to understanding the barriers to young people bringing concerns to those most able to help, was the reaction of local staff as experienced by the young person concerned.

Outcome

Following the OCO’s involvement, the HSE undertook to carry out a review to ensure that guidelines and procedures for handling incidents are clearly set out. They found in favour of the young person with respect to the issue raised and it was proposed that the relevant HSE staff would meet with the young person to explain the steps they had taken and offer a full apology.

It is important that children and young people feel confident about accessing, and participating in, complaint procedures arising from actions that have a direct effect on their lives. In view of the positive response taken to actively review the policy and procedures in place and the steps taken to promote learning from the incident, it was determined that no further action was required by the Office.

Posted in: Investigations State