/sites/default/files/styles/featured_extra_small_high_resolution/public/2020-07/iStock-1147980079%201.jpg?itok=uxbhEZ5W

/sites/default/files/styles/featured_extra_small_portrait_high_resolution/public/2020-07/iStock-1147980079%201.jpg?itok=lPyHx_Ys

Daniel's story

Daniel made a complaint to the Ombudsman regarding the way Ahpra handled the notifications he made about medical practitioners who were involved in his care when he was admitted to hospital

Make a complaint

Daniel made notifications about medical practitioners who were involved in his care when he was admitted to hospital. Daniel believed he was inappropriately prescribed medications, which led to a severe reaction and caused significant discomfort and distress. He also raised concerns about the follow-up care he received. The Medical Board of Australia assessed Daniel’s notifications and decided to take no further action.

Hearing Daniel’s complaint

Daniel complained to our office about the way his notifications were handled. Our staff heard his concerns that:

Ahpra did not present the Medical Board with all of the supporting information he provided.
The Medical Board’s decision was based on inaccurate information provided by the medical practitioners who were involved.
Ahpra failed to provide him with adequate reasons for the Medical Board’s decisions to take no further action.
Ahpra did not respond to his requests for more information about the Medical Board’s decisions and failed to explain the process for lodging a complaint with Ahpra.

Assessing Daniel’s complaint

After hearing Daniel’s complaint, we decided to investigate. Our decision was influenced by the following factors:

Daniel raised concerns about the administrative actions of Ahpra and the Medical Board, particularly the failure to consider all relevant information and the failure to provide adequate reasons for decisions.
Daniel had already attempted to complain directly to Ahpra, but he was not satisfied with the response.

Investigating Daniel’s complaint

We investigated Daniel’s complaint and identified that:

Ahpra’s letter to Daniel about the Medical Board’s decision could have contained a more detailed explanation about the reasons the Medical Board decided to take no further action.
The Medical Board did not specifically consider the issue of follow-up care, which Daniel raised in his notifications.
Ahpra did not comply with its obligations in its Service charter and Complaint handling policy when managing Daniel’s complaints about the outcome of the notifications.

Finalising Daniel’s complaint

Based on our investigation, Ahpra agreed to provide Daniel with more detailed reasons about the Medical Board’s decisions.

Further, the issue relating to follow-up care was returned to the Medical Board for consideration.

The Ombudsman also made formal comments to Ahpra about the issues we identified, with a view to improving the experience of notifiers in the future.

Our staff communicated this outcome to Daniel, who was satisfied that his complaint had been heard and action taken to address it.