<p>
	Hiqa chief calls Ombudsman&rsquo;s remarks about handling of complaints &lsquo;inaccurate&rsquo;</p>
<p>
	The head of one State watchdog has accused the head of another of undermining the reputation and credibility of his organisation in a heated row sparked by the &Aacute;ras Attracta scandal.</p>
<p>
	Phelim Quinn, chief executive of the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), sharply attacked Ombudsman Peter Tyndall over what he claimed were &ldquo;entirely inaccurate&rdquo; remarks in a radio interview.</p>
<p>
	The unprecedented spat between the two regulators is apparent in documents obtained by The Irish Times under Freedom of Information legislation.</p>
<p>
	Mr Quinn wrote to Mr Tyndall in December, a day after the Ombudsman appeared to criticise Hiqa over the handling of individual complaints about care centres in a radio interview. An RT&Eacute; undercover investigation of the &Aacute;ras Attracta home in Co Mayo, broadcast some days earlier, had revealed serious abuse by staff of residents with intellectual disabilities.</p>
<p>
	Complaints</p>
<p>
	Asked about 430 complaints received by Hiqa in relation to care centres, Mr Tyndall said Hiqa should be bringing them to the attention of his office as a draft memorandum of understanding was in place between the two organisations.</p>
<p>
	If people &ldquo;then complain to Hiqa rather than the HSE, Hiqa should be passing them on to us and I don&rsquo;t understand why that hasn&rsquo;t happened&rdquo;.</p>
<p>
	In his letter, Mr Quinn said key elements of Mr Tyndall&rsquo;s letter were untrue. &ldquo;We do not have a draft memorandum of understanding with your office&rdquo;, although there had been talks about drawing up such a document.</p>
<p>
	Disputed</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;The early draft was sent to your office on October 21st, 2014 and as yet no response on the initial draft has been received. I would point out that in no way could this initial draft be regarded as a draft memorandum of understanding as inferred by you in the above interview. I would also point out that the document in no way contains any agreements on the sharing of complaints as outlined by you in that interview.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	Mr Quinn also disputed Mr Tyndall&rsquo;s assertion that his office had been in touch with Hiqa &ldquo;and we&rsquo;re waiting on a response&rdquo;. He said the Ombudsman&rsquo;s comments &ldquo;served to undermine the reputation and credibility of Hiqa and significantly misrepresented our established procedures&rdquo;.</p>
<p>
	Mr Tyndall, in a replying letter, apologised for his &ldquo;inaccuracies&rdquo; and &ldquo;the difficulties they have caused&rdquo;. &ldquo;I now realise the amended draft memorandum had not been sent to your office, and for this I must again apologise. I had wrongly believed that we were awaiting a response from you, rather than the actual position which was contrary to this.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	The two men and their officials met in January and a revised draft of the memorandum of understanding was discussed and drawn up. This says Hiqa&rsquo;s primary role is regulation, rather than individual complaint-handling, and provides for the transfer of these to the Ombudsman&rsquo;s office.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/%C3%A1ras-attracta-row-between-hiqa-and-ombudsman-1.2113201">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/%C3%A1ras-attracta-row-between-hiqa-and-ombudsman-1.2113201</a></p>
