The Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO) has marked its 25th anniversary by reflecting on some of the complaints it has received since 1996.
In a statement, the Office said that since opening in September of that year it had received more than 50,000 complaints which led to more than 1,200 service improvements
“There have also been apologies, explanations, fee refunds and other restorative actions, with over 1,100 redress outcomes over the last five years alone,” HaDSCO said.
Director of HaDSCO, Sarah Cowie (pictured with Minister Roger Cook) said the Agency was originally called the Office of Health Review and was established under the landmark legislation Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act 1995.
“It was created to improve the quality and accountability of the Western Australian health system,” Ms Cowie said.
“The Act provided an entirely new concept and way of thinking about the handling health complaints, recognising the importance for all parties to be involved in the resolution process and allowing deficiencies in the health delivery system to be identified and improvements and changes implemented.”
She said that in 1999 the State Parliament legislated to transfer the responsibility for handling complaints about disability services to the Office.
“Following a review of the Act in 2003, the revised Health and Disability Services (Complaints) Act 1995 came into effect in 2010,” Ms Cowie said.
“This resulted in the Office having access to negotiated settlement as a resolution option, as well as a name change for the Agency to what it is now known, the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office.”
The Director said that with the implementation of the Mental Health Act 2014 the Office also took on the responsibility of managing mental health complaints.
“Now in 2021, with the implementation of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019, the HaDSCO can receive complaints about the voluntary assisted dying process, which is one of the safeguards provided in this important piece of legislation,” she said.
Reflecting on the widening of its role over the years, Ms Cowie said the Office began with a team of 13 and received 671 complaints in its first year.
“Today the HaDSCO operates with a team of 17, receiving over 2,800 complaints a year,” Ms Cowie said.
