Ombudsman slams hospital
THE ombudsman has criticised a public hospital's unhelpful response to a simple request for a medical report which damaged its image and did not meet with public expectations.
A complaint by a patient against the hospital was upheld by the ombudsman, the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints, and recommendations accepted by the Hospital Authority.
The unnamed hospital has implemented a performance pledge to deal with requests for reports within six weeks and undertaken not to dismiss inquiries with demands for written reminders.
The case dealt with the request by a patient, also not named, to the medical records unit of a hospital.
Despite paying a $455 handling charge, the patient had to make repeated phone calls to ask for its speedy issue.
However, on two occasions he was asked to send written reminders, the second time after which he filed a complaint to the ombudsman.
An investigation found there to be no performance pledge and that reports could take up to four months to issue.
The report could have been issued earlier by assigning it from his own doctor, who was on leave, and the hospital should have been more helpful in explaining the delay, the ombudsman said.
He said the written reminder from the patient had served no purpose.
The response was 'unhelpful and bureaucratic'.
