Complaint

How to file a complaint with a care institution

A complaint tells the system something is wrong. Filed well, it forces a response.

You want to file a complaint, but you wonder whether it’s worth it. It is: a complaint isn’t picking a fight, it’s telling the system that something is wrong.

Filed well, a complaint forces an organisation to respond. The difference with an objection matters: an objection challenges a decision (such as a rejection), a complaint is about how you were treated, such as conduct, slowness or mistakes.

You don’t have to make it legal. Keep it factual and clear, and use the free help that exists. Here’s how.

Step by step

1

Decide whether it’s a complaint or an objection

An objection challenges a decision, for example a rejection. A complaint is about how you were treated: conduct, slowness or mistakes. For a rejection, see the objection steps on the relevant page.

2

Find the organisation’s complaints procedure

Every care provider and municipality must have one. It’s usually on the website under ‘complaint’, with where to file it.

3

Write it factually

What happened, when, who was involved, and what you want changed? Attach your documentation. Facts work better than emotion, however understandable that emotion is.

4

Use the complaints officer

With care providers, every organisation has a complaints officer under the care quality law: free, and meant to help and mediate for you.

5

Not resolved? Take one more step

With care providers you can go to a recognised disputes committee; with the municipality to the local or National Ombudsman.

Share your complaint with us too

A complaint often disappears in a drawer at one organisation. At Zorgfuik your experience counts in the larger pattern, even if the complaint itself led nowhere.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between a complaint and an objection?
An objection challenges a decision such as a rejection. A complaint is about how you were treated: conduct, slowness or mistakes.
Is there free help with a complaint?
Yes. With care providers the complaints officer helps (mandatory under the care quality law), free and mediating.
What if my complaint isn’t resolved?
You can go to a recognised disputes committee (care) or to the local or National Ombudsman.

Help us reveal the pattern

Your story matters on its own. Together with others it shows exactly where the system breaks down. Anonymous is fine.

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