Informing the IVO or registering a complaint about healthcare

The patient concerned by the complaint may report the incident to the IVO. If the patient has died or is otherwise unable to make a complaint, a relative or a very close friendof the patient may report the incident. Relatives usually include immediate family, domestic partners and other close relations.

If the patient needs practical help to make a complaint, it is important that the patient remains the complainant.

IVO does not handle claims for financial compensation. If you want to claim financial compensation, you can do so as follows:

• If you suffer an avoidable injury while receiving care, you may be entitled to compensation under the Patient Injury Act (patientskadelagen). All Swedish county councils and regions have taken out patient insurance with Löf (regional mutual insurance companies). Claims should be made to this company.
• If the claim relates to care that is not covered by the county council's/region’s patient insurance, ask with which insurance company your private hospital, private dental practice, nursing home or beauty clinic that has performed cosmetic surgical procedures and cosmetic injections is insured, and contact that insurance company directly.
• If it involves dental treatment by a private dentist, you can also contact the Private Dental Care Information Service (Privattandvårdsupplysningen). Find out more on the Private Dental Care Information Service’s website.
• If the person who cared for or treated you does not have patient insurance, contact the Patient Insurance Association (Patientförsäkringsföreningen). Find out more on the Patient Insurance Association’s website.
• If you have been injured by a medicinal product, contact the Swedish Pharmaceutical Insurance (Läkemedelsförsäkringen). You can find out more on the Swedish Pharmaceutical Insurance website.

A complaint that is registered with IVO has limited confidentiality protection. This means that the IVO will normally disclose the document to the party requesting it, even if it contains information on health and personal circumstances.

As a rule, the IVO will also send your complaint to the healthcare provider (e.g. hospital or clinic) concerned and any staff you mention.

When a complaint is received by  IVO, we determine whether or not to investigate. It is the Patient Safety Act that governs what the IVO must investigate. For IVO to be able to investigate a complaint, you should submit it within 2 years of the incident occurring.

IVO investigates complaints of more serious incidents in healthcare where a patient has suffered permanent or unchangeable injury or a significantly increased need for care, or where the patient has died..

IVO also investigates complaints from patients who have been sectioned, i.e. are receiving compulsory healthcare, as well as events in the healthcare system that have negatively affected or threatened the patient's self-determination, integrity or legal position.

When the healthcare provider respond to your compliant, it must be given in such a way that you can understand it. You can be given the answer verbally , for example at a meeting or by telephone. It can also be provided in writing, for example by letter. The extent of the answer depends on what you complained about or commented on.

If, for any reason, you do not receive an answer from the healthcare provider, or if you have not received a satisfactory answer, you can register your complaint with IVO. This may be the case, for example, if the healthcare provider’s business no longer exists, or if you, because of special circumstances, can't contact the healthcare provider.

The healthcare provider must acknowledge receipt of your comments as soon as possible after receiving them. If possible, you must also be told when you can expect a reply. How long it takes to get a reply depends, among other things, on what you have complained about or commented on. You should normally receive your reply within 4 weeks.

Before you register a complaint with IVO, you should have raised the complaint either with the organisation where you received care or with the Patients' Advisory Committee in your region. However, it is not within the remit of the Patients' Advisory Committees to provide support in the event of complaints about cosmetic services. Healthcare providers are required to take receipt of, and respond to, your complaints and comments. The Patients' Advisory Committee is a link between you and the healthcare system. You can find out more about the Patients' Advisory Committee here.

If you have been the victim of a crime, visit the police website for more information on how to proceed.