If you have questions about your healthcare, it is okay to ask questions and seek explanations. You can do this while you are receiving care, or after you’ve stopped. Sometimes talking to the practitioner or health service to understand what happened can resolve your concerns.
A practitioner is the person who treated you such as a doctor, nurse or dentist. A health service is the hospital or clinic where you had your appointment.
If you don’t get the answers you are seeking or things go wrong then you can make a complaint directly to the practitioner or health service.
This is often the quickest and easiest way to have your concern resolved.
However, we know that there are situations when you can't talk to the practitioner or health service, or don't feel comfortable. For example, if your concern is about unprofessional behaviour (see examples below) you may wish to speak to us first. If your concern is a crime such as sexual assault, it should also be reported to the police.
Read our 'Tips for making a complaint'