HSE Complaint Process: How to Complain About Home Support in Ireland
Two Separate Tracks: Complaints vs Appeals
When something goes wrong with HSE home support, families often conflate two different processes. They work differently and have different deadlines.
An appeal challenges the clinical decision — the number of hours allocated after the interRAI assessment. You think the allocation is wrong.
A complaint addresses service delivery problems — a carer not showing up, poor quality of care, administrative delays, staff conduct. The service isn't working as promised.
Use the right channel for your issue. Filing a complaint when you need an appeal (or vice versa) wastes time and gets routed to the wrong team.
How to Appeal an Hour Allocation
If you believe the interRAI assessment under-allocated your parent's home support hours, submit a written appeal to the local HSE Home Support Office within 20 days of receiving the decision letter.
The appeal must include:
- Your parent's name and case reference
- The specific decision you're challenging (the number of hours allocated)
- The clinical and environmental reasons why the allocation is insufficient — detail changes in condition, incidents not captured during the assessment, and care needs the assessor may have missed
- A supporting letter from your parent's GP, if possible
An independent HSE officer — someone not involved in the original assessment — reviews the complete file and issues a new determination. The reviewer can request additional information.
There is no formal template for the appeal letter. Write it clearly, stick to facts, and focus on what the assessment missed rather than general frustration.
Your Service Your Say: The Complaint Process
For service delivery issues — missed visits, poor care quality, admin delays, staff behaviour — the HSE's formal complaint mechanism is called "Your Service Your Say."
You can submit a complaint through three channels:
- Online: through the HSE's complaint portal
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 1890 424 555
The HSE aims to acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and investigate within 30 working days. In practice, complex complaints take longer.
Your complaint should include:
- Dates and details of what went wrong
- Names of staff involved, if known
- What resolution you're seeking (additional hours, a change of carer, an apology, a process correction)
The complaint is investigated by the relevant HSE service area. You receive a formal written response. If you're unsatisfied with the outcome, you can escalate further.
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Escalation: The Ombudsman
If the HSE's internal complaint process doesn't resolve your issue, the Office of the Ombudsman can investigate. The Ombudsman is independent of the HSE and has the authority to examine administrative decisions, delays, and failures in service.
You must go through the HSE's own process first. The Ombudsman won't accept a complaint that hasn't been raised with the HSE directly.
Complaints to the Ombudsman must be submitted within 12 months of the HSE's final response (though extensions are possible in exceptional cases). The Ombudsman's investigation can result in recommendations to the HSE, including reconsideration of decisions and changes to procedures.
Fair Deal Appeals Are Different
If your complaint involves the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Fair Deal) rather than home support, the appeal route is different entirely. Fair Deal appeals go to the HSE National Appeals Service in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, within 40 working days of the decision. There is no extension on this deadline — it is a hard statutory limit.
Don't confuse the two. A home support hour appeal goes to the local Home Support Office (20 days). A Fair Deal financial assessment appeal goes to Ballyshannon (40 working days).
Documenting Problems Before You Complain
The strongest complaints include specific, dated records. If your parent's carer repeatedly arrives late, doesn't show up, or provides inadequate care, keep a log:
- Date and time of each incident
- What happened (or didn't happen)
- Who you contacted about it and when
- Any impact on your parent's health or safety
A pattern documented over two weeks carries far more weight than a single frustrated phone call.
For complaint and appeal letter templates, an agency communication log, and the full Your Service Your Say process guide, see our Ireland Home Support guide.
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