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Complaints are treasures that help an organization to improve.
Complaints and Claims
What is a Complaint?
Basically, a complaint is the reporting or statement of a deficiency or irregularity, which may be one of the following types:
- Deficient medical or nursing care
- Incorrect behaviour (Impoliteness, Inattention, etc.)
- Structural deficiency (condition of rooms, facilities, cleanliness, noise, etc.)
- Deficient organization (being kept waiting despite having an appointment, having to wait too long to be given an appointment, delays in sending results, etc.)
What is a Claim for Damages?
Damage is a material disadvantage suffered by a person (e.g. in the form of unnecessary pain) or their property (e.g. damage to an article in their possession).
We differentiate between the grounds for submitting a complaint and grounds for claiming damages: in the latter case, if the damage is someone else’s fault, you are entitled to claim damages in the form of money.
For this case the steps you may take are summarized separately under the heading "How Do We Deal with Claims for Damages?"
We differentiate between the grounds for submitting a complaint and grounds for claiming damages: in the latter case, if the damage is someone else’s fault, you are entitled to claim damages in the form of money.
For this case the steps you may take are summarized separately under the heading "How Do We Deal with Claims for Damages?"
How You can Register a Complaint
For minor complaints, you should speak directly with the doctor on duty or staff nurse on your ward. You can identify them on information boards on every ward.
For serious problems and deficiencies in medical care, you can go to the hospital management and the head doctor of the hospital. For problems with nursing care you should turn to the head of nursing services and for structural (equipment, noise, etc.) and administrative (including financial) matters there is the administrative director.
If you wish to lodge your complaint outside the hospital, you can do this in the headquarters of KAGes, where there are staff delegated for this purpose.
For serious problems and deficiencies in medical care, you can go to the hospital management and the head doctor of the hospital. For problems with nursing care you should turn to the head of nursing services and for structural (equipment, noise, etc.) and administrative (including financial) matters there is the administrative director.
If you wish to lodge your complaint outside the hospital, you can do this in the headquarters of KAGes, where there are staff delegated for this purpose.
Who Can I Speak to?
- The ward or clinic where the problem arose.
- The management of the hospital.
- The Headquarters of KAGes.
- The Patients'Ombudswoman’s Office of the Province of Styria
- The Arbitration Office of KAGes and the Styrian Medical Association.
- The Arbitration Committee between the Austrian Insurance Federation and KAGes.