Complaint options

As a patient, you have the option to make a complaint about a treatment that you have received from the health service. This results in a better quality of the treatment and the legal status of the patient.

You can for example make a complaint about:

  • Health work
  • Administrative work
  • The use of force in connection with psychiatric hospitalization

All complaints will be a part of a coordinated and systematic collection of knowledge, which is a condition for future development of quality in the health service. Furthermore, this is how the health service learns from its mistakes.

Complaints on health work

You can make a complaint on the health work of individual health service employees. Here you can make a complaint if for example if your illness analysis, treatment or consultancy/guidance has been dissatisfying.

This kind of complaints should be handed to Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed which than presents it to Sundhedsvæsenet Disciplinærnævn where they make a decision.

Complaints on administrative work

You can make a complaint on all administrative decisions, which the health service has made.

  • Complaints on decisions concerning compensation for traveling in the Faroes or decisions concerning a follower for a patient going abroad for treatment are handed the Faroese Complaints Commission, which will present it to the Complaints Committee in the Department for the public and health, where the decision is to be made.
  • Complaints on decisions concerning insight in patients’ journals are handled by Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed.
  • Complaints on other administrative work in the health service are handled by the hospital concerned or by the ministry of the health and the interior.

Complaints on the use of force concerning a psychiatric hospitalization

You can make a complaint if you have experienced the use of force concerning a psychiatric hospitalization. This can for example be the use of force concerning a hospitalization, the use of force concerning treatment or the use of physical force.

Complaints concerning this matter are handed the Faroese Complaints Commission, which presents it to the Psychiatric Patients Complaints Board, where the decision is made.

If you disagree with the decision made by the Psychiatric Patients Complaints Board, you can complain the decision to Det Psykiatriske Ankenævn. The complaint should be sent to the Faroese Complaints Commission, which sends it to Det Psykiatriske Ankenævn.

You can read more about your complaint options in the guideline for complaint options in the health service on your right.