Complaint handling procedure

At the Netherlands Cancer Institute, we hope to learn from all complaints we receive. We greatly appreciate people who take the time to submit a complaint to us. This can help us fix what went wrong and adapt or optimize our care to better fit the needs of our patients.

The Netherlands Cancer institute wants all its patients and visitors to be happy. You may not be satisfied, and your issue may not have been succesfully resolved with the party or parties involved. if this is the case for you, please do not hesitate to contact our complaint consultant.

You can submit your complaint through our digital complaint form. if you would prefer, you can (e)mail your complaint to klachten@nki.nl or send it to the Netherlands Cancer Institute, attn. de klachtenbemiddelaar, Postbus 90203, 1006 BE Amsterdam. Please remember to include your name and email address.

if you want to read all information, please download our flyer.

I am not satisfied. What can I do?

You can discuss your issue directly with the person providing your treatment or care, or the head of the department, to find ut if there is anything we can do to adequately handle the situation.

if you are still not satisfied, you can submit a complaint.

I have submitted a complaint, what will happen next?

Once we have received your complaint, our complaints consultant will e-mail you within a few weekdays to set up a phone appointment.

How do you handle complaints?

There are several ways in which we can handle your complaint:

Alert

We will add your complaint to our hospital complaints registry. Your complaint will be treated as an alert to our organization that does not require an active response or report. We register all complaints and use them to improve the quality of our care and services.

Mediation

Our complaints consultant can mediate to help you find a solution. if necessary, our complaints consultant can help you in your contact with your care provider(s).

The complaints consultant will present your complaint to the relevant member(s) of staff and supervisor, and will request a response. You will receive this response from the complaints consultant. if you want, the complaints consultant can facilitate discussion.

As a recommendation for the internal complaints commission

if you want, or if you are not satisfied with the results of mediation between you and the involved party or parties, you can submit your complaint to our internal complaints committee. This committee has been instituted by the Board of Directors and consists of internal and external parties.

The committee will assess and handle your complaint by means of a hearing. They will notify the Board of Directors on the merits of your complaint and recommend further steps. The board of Directors will make the final call about your complaint.

The complaints committee will only handle written complaints. You can submit your complaint at klachten@nki.nl or send it to The Netherlands Cancer Institute, attn. de ambtelijk secretaris Klachtencommissie, Postbus 90203, 1006 BE Amsterdam.

Please remember to include the following details:

your name, initials, and date of birth;
your address, postal code, e-mail address, and phone number;
the name/role of the person or people and/or department(s) to whom the complaint is addressed;
the date or time in which your issue arose;
a short but succint description of your complaint;
place and date.

Can I submit a complaint anonymously?

No, we will not handle anonymous complaints. We need your contact details to adquately handle your complaint.

Can I submit a complaint for a patient?

If you are not the patient but want to submit a complaint in name of the patient, you will need to obtain written permission from the patient first. This is in accordance with Dutch law concerning complaints, privacy, and confidentiality of patient details. The only exceptions are survivors and legal representatives. We will take the time to carefully handle your complaint.

What is the legal term in which to handle a complaint?

The legal term in which to handle a complaint is six to ten weeks. We wil take the time to carefully handle your complaint, which may mean that we won't be able to handle your complaint within the legal term. if this is the case for you, we will let you know what you can expect from us.