Ombudsperson

It is very important to know that you can go to a hospital's ombudsperson in complete confidence.

The attitude and tasks of the ombudsperson:

• is neutral, does not take a stand and does not judge who is right or wrong
• works independently of hospital management
• handles every complaint confidentially and is bound by professional confidentiality
• promotes communication between patient and health care provider
• does not resolve the reported problems by him- or herself but tries to reach a solution through mediation
• informs the patient of other options if no solution is reached
• records all reports of complaints and formulates recommendations to hospital management to prevent the recurrence of complaints

Download the internal regulations of the ombudsperson.

A complaint in our context is an expression of dissatisfaction or a request for information or clarification from a patient (his family, confidant or representative) regarding the provision of care. Thus, questions, concerns, complaints, comments, reactions, conflicts, disagreements and other dilemmas fall under complaints. The right to complain is defined in Article 11 of the patient rights (Aug. 22, 2002). You can raise your complaint directly with the person concerned or contact the ombudsperson.

A (near) incident is an unintended event during the care process that (just did not) lead to, could have led to or could still lead to harm to the patient as a result of a medical act, hospitalization or medical examination.

In the event of an incident or near incident you (or your representative, confidant or loved one) can contact the person(s) involved directly or you can contact the quality department.  (kwaliteit@stzh.be).

Through incident analysis, the quality department aims to improve the quality of care and increase the service and attractiveness of the hospital.

The fastest and easiest way is to fill out the online request form via the following link: digital request form for accessing patient records.

Are you unable to complete the form online? Then you can send the completed and signed request form together with the necessary certificates and a copy of your identity card to the ombudsperson: ombudsdienst@stzh.be. 
This can also be sent by mail to: Sint-Trudo Ziekenhuis, Ombudsdienst, Diestersteenweg 100, BE-3800 Sint-Truiden

Your request will be forwarded to the appropriate responsible parties for further processing.

Within 15 days your request will be processed.