What does HIQA expect of patient experience, and how do you make it world class?

HIQA expects care planned around the person, with rights, dignity, privacy, informed consent, kindness and open answers to complaints, all under Theme 1 of the national standards, and its inspectors speak with patients on every inspection. World class means going further, with every enquiry answered quickly in the patient's own language and every patient leaving knowing what happens next.

What the standards ask

Theme 1, person-centred care and support, holds nine standards, from services informed by people's needs and equitable access to dignity, privacy and autonomy, a culture of kindness, consideration and respect, and complaints answered promptly and openly.¹ HIQA's reports set out to describe what people using the service told inspectors about their experience and what inspectors observed.²

Where the experience is won and lost

12,367 patients took part in the 2024 National Inpatient Experience Survey, run by HIQA with the HSE and the Department of Health.³ The gaps they named sit outside the consultation itself, finding someone to talk to, information after discharge and time spent waiting.³ Those are the moments a private hospital or clinic can own completely. The results are also used to inform HIQA's monitoring programmes.⁴

Approved centres carry the same duty in law. Regulation 20 requires each resident to be given information on their care team, their diagnosis, their medicines and their rights in an understandable form and language, with interpretation and translation available.⁵

1. Measure response time. Every new enquiry timed from arrival to first reply, reviewed weekly by a leader.
2. Answer in the patient's language. Replies drafted in the language the patient wrote in, and approved by a person.
3. Show the price and policy first. The fee and cancellation policy before the patient commits, so nothing surprises them.
4. Record consent properly. At booking for recording, and the consent discussion in the signed note.
5. Close every visit with next steps. A letter or message saying what happens next and who to contact.
6. Ask, then act. Collect feedback after every visit and log what changed because of it.
7. Answer concerns on the record. Every complaint answered from the full conversation history, with the outcome recorded.

1. Month ______ Locations ______
2. Median first response time to a new enquiry ______
3. Enquiries answered within the hour ______
4. Complaints received ______ Answered within target ______
5. Patients given written next steps after the visit ______
6. One change made because of feedback ______

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Experience as a measure of quality

Standard 1.1 expects services planned around people's identified needs and preferences, and Standard 2.8 expects the effectiveness of care monitored and improved.¹ A monthly review of response times, complaints and next steps answers both. The guide to incidents and complaints covers concerns in detail, and the HIQA compliance software hub maps every theme.

Questions

Do HIQA inspectors talk to patients?

Yes. Inspectors speak with patients and other people using the service, which may include relatives and visitors, in the clinical areas they visit.

Does the national survey cover private hospitals?

The National Inpatient Experience Survey covers care in publicly funded acute hospitals, so a private hospital should run its own feedback programme.

Which standard covers complaints?

Standard 1.8, complaints and concerns responded to promptly, openly and effectively, with clear communication and support throughout.

Sources

1. 1Health Information and Quality Authority, 2024National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare, Version 2 (2024), in operation from 26 September 2024Read source
2. 2Health Information and Quality Authority, 2024A guide to healthcare inspections against the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare, version 2.0, September 2024Read source
3. 3Health Information and Quality Authority, 2024National survey reveals high patient satisfaction but highlights key areas for improvement in Irish hospitals, 10 December 2024Read source
4. 4Health Information and Quality Authority, 2026National Care Experience ProgrammeRead source
5. 5Mental Health Commission, 2026Judgement Support Framework 2026, for approved centre service providers, version 6.2, January 2026Read source

Written by the wai team from Health Information and Quality Authority guidance, checked on 16 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. Neither HIQA nor the Mental Health Commission endorses wai or any software.