Have a complaint?

Have a complaint? Let us know about it

At Tergooi MC, it is important to us that patients and visitors are satisfied. That is why our hospital employees strive to offer the best possible treatment, care and guidance during your visit to the outpatient clinic or your stay in hospital.

However, we are conscious of the fact that you might not be satisfied with something. It may concern the care, communication and treatment in the hospital or the way things are organised. We therefore ask that you let us know about your complaint or dissatisfaction. This helps us further improve the quality of our care and services and, together with you, we can look for a solution.

Submitting a complaint

1. Begin by discussing your complaint with the care provider, doctor or manager concerned. This is the fastest, simplest process and can often lead to a fitting solution to the complaint.
2. If you cannot come to an agreement with the care provider(s) involved, please contact the complaints officer.
   • Digital: use the digital complaints form (in dutch) on our website
   • Post: Tergooi MC, Attn. Complaints Officer, Postbus 10016, 1201 DA Hilversum
   • Phone: 088 753 14 10 on working days between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.

If you call the complaints officer and he or she is busy, you will be sent to voicemail. When you leave a message, you will be called back as soon as possible.
If you are a patient, you can submit a complaint yourself. Others, such as family members, can also submit a complaint on your behalf, but they must have your permission to do so. Relatives can also submit a complaint with regard to a deceased patient. We do not process anonymous complaints, as this makes it impossible to have a fair procedure in which both parties have a say.

What happens after submitting a complaint?

The complaints officer will contact you as soon as possible for additional information and to discuss the matter. What do you want to achieve with your complaint? Would you prefer a response by telephone, in writing or perhaps have a (mediation) conversation? Or is the purpose of your complaint only to make us aware of something? The complaints officer is there to help you find the most suitable way of handling your complaint.

• When your complaint is being handled, the complaints officer will relay it to the person(s) directly involved (employee, manager or medical specialist) to hear his or her side of the issue. Depending on what you want, the complaint will simply be reported, or there will be a request for a response (written or verbal) or a (mediation) meeting. The complaints officer shall take a neutral stance and ensure the privacy of everyone involved.
• The complaints officer shall aim to reach a conclusion within six weeks, or sooner if possible. However, in some instances, more time is required for a comprehensive response. Providing there is sufficiently good reason for this, it may take a maximum of ten weeks before the complaints procedure is concluded.
• Once you receive a response to your complaint, the complaints officer will ask whether the complaint has been resolved satisfactorily. If that is the case, the matter will be considered closed. If this is not the case, the complaints officer will discuss further options with you.
• Your complaint will be registered and processed anonymously in a report for the relevant management and the board of directors. In order to improve our care and services, it is important to know the nature of the complaint, so that we can prevent similar issues arising in the future.

Other options

What can you do if your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction after mediation by the complaints officer? In that event, you can also request that your complaint be submitted to the Quality and Improvement Committee of Inquiry. This committee can only deal with complaints that are medical or care related.
You can also submit your complaint to an authority outside Tergooi MC. Tergooi MC is a member of the Hospital Disputes Committee (www.degeschillencommissiezorg.nl). The Hospital Disputes Committee rules by means of a binding advice. By submitting the dispute to the Hospital Disputes Committee, the parties agree that they are bound by the decision and no longer have the option of still submitting the dispute to the civil court. The complaints officer can give you further information regarding both options.

You can only contact the Hospitals Disputes Committee if you have received the final conclusion (the ‘judgement’) from the complaints officer or if the complaints procedure has lasted longer than ten weeks without your consent.

Does your complaint concern a bill?

Complaints regarding the financial reimbursement of the care, the costs on your bill, the rates or the Health insurance deductible can be submitted to the Invoicing & Debt Management department. This department can be reached on workdays from 8.30 am to 12 noon by telephone 088 753 13 73 or by email at .

Damage to personal belongings

During your stay in Tergooi MC, did you suffer loss or damage to any personal belongings? In this event, you can contact the manager of the department concerned, and he or she will fill in a damage report form with you. The Finance and Control department will process your claim and assess whether you are eligible for compensation.

Submitting a personal liability claim

If you believe that you have suffered personal injury as a result of your stay or treatment in Tergooi MC, it is important to bear in mind the difference between an error and a complication. A medical procedure can have unintended consequences, but that does not necessarily mean the healthcare provider has made a mistake. Every surgical procedure carries with it the risk, whether great or small, of an unfavourable outcome. However, if you would like to submit a claim for damages, you can contact the complaints officer for more information on the process. The complaints officer makes no ruling on liability. This is assessed by MediRisk, the hospital’s professional liability insurer (www.medirisk.nl).

Contact

We advise you to begin by talking to the care provider concerned. The complaints officer can help you with this conversation. If you believe that the hospital should be held liable, you can write a letter to: Tergooi MC , Attn. complaints officer/board of directors, PO Box 10016, 1201 DA Hilversum, or send an email to: . In your letter or email, please describe what happened, when it happened, what harm you have suffered so far, what difficulties you expect in the future and what you believe is the cause.

External authorities

Would you like advice on submitting your complaint, are you dissatisfied with the hospital’s handling of your complaint, or do you want your complaint to be assessed by an external authority? If any of these are applicable, you can contact the following:

1. Adviespunt Zorgbelang: www.adviespuntzorgbelang.nl
2. Patiëntenfederatie Nederland: www.patiëntenfederatie.nl
3. Geschillencommissie Ziekenhuizen: www.degeschillencommissiezorg.nl
4. Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd: www.igj.nl
5. Landelijk Meldpunt Zorg: www.landelijkmeldpuntzorg.nl
6. Tuchtcollege voor de Gezondheidszorg: www.tuchtcollege-gezondheidszorg.nl

Complaints procedure

This complaints procedure is based on the Healthcare Quality, Complaints and Disputes Act (Wkkgz). If you have any questions on this subject, please contact the complaints officer.

In conclusion
A complaint will give us the chance to improve the quality of our care and services. Therefore we appreciate it if you would give us the opportunity of properly handling your complaint.