klachtenregeling

Complaints regulation

If you have a complaint about a treatment or the way you have been treated then it is good to make it known to us. Not only for yourself, but also for other patients and for quality within the practice. You can make your complaint known in several ways:

1. Interview with your physiotherapist

First of all, it is worthwhile to have a conversation with your physiotherapist or to contact the practice where your physiotherapist works (Physiotherapy Elisabeth Wolffstraat). It may be that you find it difficult to raise your complaint. After all, a conversation can be confrontational. If you find it difficult to discuss your complaint with your physiotherapist, you can take someone to the interview, for example your partner, a family member or someone else you trust. For advice on how to approach the interview, you can contact a patient organization such as Zorgbelang (www.zorgbelang-nederland.nl).
  
2. Submit a complaint

If a conversation with your physiotherapist has not helped, you can choose to file a complaint. There are three different bodies where you can submit your complaint:
  • The Complaints Committee;
  • The Supervisory Committee;
  • The Regional Disciplinary Court.

Which authority you choose depends on what you want to achieve. Each committee has different powers to take measures. What the committees have in common is that they are independent and handle your complaint very carefully and confidentially. The handling of the complaint is free of charge, with the exception of the (possible) costs of assistance, for example if you engage a lawyer.


The Complaints Committee

If you think it is particularly important that your complaint is acknowledged, you can contact the Complaints Committee. The Complaints Committee is an independent committee set up by the Royal Dutch Society for Physiotherapy (KNGF), the professional organization of physiotherapists in the Netherlands. The Complaints Committee assesses complaints against physiotherapists who work alone or in a practice. You can also contact this committee with complaints about employees of the physiotherapist. If you have a complaint about a physiotherapist who works at a healthcare institution (for example a hospital), the complaints procedure of the institution usually applies. You can then go directly to the institution itself. Complaints committee therefore mainly appeals to the physiotherapist for his professionalism. She can not award compensation or impose penalties. The Complaints Committee may request an external mediator at your request, who will try to solve the problem between you and your physiotherapist. If you do not want mediation or the mediation does not lead to the desired result, then the Complaints Committee starts a complaints procedure. This procedure consists of a written examination and a session with a so-called oral hearing. The Complaints Committee comes with an opinion on the complaint and gives recommendations to the physical therapist on how to prevent this complaint in the future. The physical therapist must respond to the recommendations, but he does not have to follow them.


The Supervisory Committee

It is possible that your complaint is so serious that you want measures to be taken. For example because you want to prevent repetition and because you want to improve the quality of physiotherapy. In that case you can contact the KNGF Supervisory Committee. The Supervisory Committee is concerned with the behavior of physiotherapists who are registered in the Central Quality Register for Physical Therapy and about the behavior of members of the KNGF. They must adhere to the rules of conduct and professional ethics for physiotherapists. The handling of the complaint has been decided and the procedure is generally smooth. First there is a written examination and then an oral examination during a session. The Supervisory Committee makes a written decision. When the Committee of Supervision agrees with the complaint, it can impose a measure on the physiotherapist. There are various possibilities. The Commission may issue a warning or reprimand or suspend the physiotherapist (from certain rights) from the KNGF membership. She can also relieve the physiotherapist from the KNGF membership and delete from the Central Quality Register Physiotherapy. In addition, the Supervisory Committee can determine that the case will be published in the KNGF association magazine. In doing so, you, as the complainant, always remain anonymous. The Supervision Commission can not prohibit the physical therapist from practicing his profession. If you disagree with the decision of the Supervisory Committee, you can appeal to the KNGF's Appeals Committee.


Regional Disciplinary Court

If you think that the physiotherapist should receive a reprimand or, in the last resort, no longer be allowed to practice his profession, you can submit a complaint to the Regional Disciplinary Court of the government. Physiotherapists are subject to the disciplinary law that the government has introduced. Complaints about your treatment or treatment by a physiotherapist can be submitted to one of the five Regional Disciplinary Boards. If the Regional Disciplinary Court agrees with your complaint, the physiotherapist can be reprimanded and in the worst case he may no longer call himself a physiotherapist. A statement generally takes some time and the procedure is more formal than with the Supervisory Committee. The session at the Regional Disciplinary Court is in principle public. You are not obliged to be present at the hearing. If you want, you can call in a lawyer who represents you. For detailed information about the procedures, please contact the Regional Disciplinary Boards.New paragraph
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