The Health Minister is urging people who have complaints about the health service to speak up.

It comes after a report by the Ombudsman which found that some people were afraid to complain.

Peter Tyndall found that would-be complainants were afraid of repercussions for themselves or their loved ones.

“Complaints are a vital early warning system for hospitals and other health services. I wonder if the tragic events seen in Áras Attracta and the Midlands Hospital Portlaoise, could have been avoided if those complaints that were made were dealt with properly,” he said.

Minister Leo Varadkar admits that some people are afraid to speak up, but says there's advice available for them

“They fear that there may be consequences for them or their families,” he said.

“If people do complain at least it allows us to address them and measure them and make some changes.”

Mr Varadkar also said anyone looking to make a complaint should visit the official website for lodging complaints on healthcare and social care services – healthcomplaints.ie. The site“gives people a lot of information about how to complain appropriately and what body to complain to depending on which issues they have,” Mr Varadkar said.