We want to know if something has gone wrong, or if you think we could have done better. Raising a concern will never affect the care your child receives from us.
1. Tell us informally first, if you can
Most concerns are resolved quickly by talking to us. Speak to a member of the clinic team on the day, or email hello@shinebrightclinic.ie. We aim to resolve informal concerns within five working days.
2. Making a formal complaint
If you would rather make a formal complaint, or an informal approach hasn’t resolved things, please email hello@shinebrightclinic.ie with “Complaint” in the subject line, or write to Shine Bright Clinic, 3 Landscape Road, Churchtown, Dublin, D14 WC65. Tell us what happened, when, who was involved, and what you would like to happen. A parent or guardian may complain on a child’s behalf; a young person may complain themselves.
3. What we will do
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Acknowledge your complaint in writing within 2 working days, tell you who is handling it, and confirm what happens next.
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Investigate. Complaints about clinical care are reviewed by our Clinical Lead, Dr Laura Bond, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Complaints about administration, communication or fees are handled by the Business Lead. Where a complaint concerns the Clinical Lead personally, an independent clinical opinion will be sought.
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Respond in full within 20 working days. If we need longer (for example to obtain an outside opinion), we will tell you why and when to expect a reply.
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Tell you what we found, whether we agree that something went wrong, what we have done about it, and how we will prevent it happening again. If we have got something wrong, we will say so and apologise.
4. If you are not satisfied
You can ask for the response to be reviewed by the other director, who will reply within 10 working days. If you remain dissatisfied, you may raise a concern about a doctor with the Medical Council of Ireland (www.medicalcouncil.ie), about a nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (www.nmbi.ie), or about the handling of your personal data with the Data Protection Commission (www.dataprotection.ie). We will give you these details again in our response.
5. Safeguarding and safety
If a complaint raises a concern about a child’s safety, we act on it immediately under our Child Safeguarding Statement, separately from the complaints process. If it identifies a risk to other patients, it is also recorded as an incident.
6. How complaints are used
Every complaint is recorded, anonymised and reviewed at our clinical governance meeting so that we learn from it. Complaint records are kept separately from your child’s clinical record and retained for 7 years.
Complaints Procedure v1.1 • Approved by the directors • Review October 2027