Some 81 per cent of people who formally complained about their doctors were dissatisfied with the outcome, according to a survey published today by the Irish Medical Council (IMC).
The organisation, which regulates GPs, hospital doctors and consultants, acknowledged there was a need for greater simplicity and transparency in the complaints process. And it committed to developing new "user-friendly" and "transparent" procedures.
One of the key findings is that both doctors and patients agree that dealing with all complaints under the heading of professional misconduct is inappropriate - particularly as hearings are held in public.
This means relatively trivial complaints are addressed through the same process as those of a more serious nature, such as professional incompetence.
Figures published last October showed complaints about doctors are rising. Some 189 were made in the first six months of this year, compared with 174 for the same period in 2005. Last year only 19 cases out of 276 went to a full fitness-to-practice inquiry.
The research showed both doctors and patients found the complaints process was complicated by the standardised legally formulated letters used.
The report, Managing Complaints about Doctors: Stakeholder Perspectives of the Role of the Medical Council in Ireland,was launched by Minister for Health Mary Harney.
It found a high level of satisfaction with doctors, though some 25 per cent of the public surveyed had found reason for dissatisfaction over the past five years, mainly relating to consumer issues such as cost, poor communication.
Dissatisfied patients were unlikely to complain and there was a very low level of awareness of the agencies responsible for dealing with complaints, the research also showed.
While the majority of doctors were also disatsified with the complaints process, some 83 per cent of those complained against were satisfied with the outcome.
The president of the Medical Council, Dr John Hillery said the Medical Practitioners Act was a major contributor to the weaknesses in the current system. He expressed the hope that some of the new procedures being developed would be incorporated into the Medical Practitioners Bill, which was published earlier this year.
Professor Ciaran O'Boyle, head of the International School of Healthcare Management at the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) and one of the co-authors of the report, said self-regulation led to public mistrust.
"There is a general assumption that the absence of larger public involvement in medical regulatory process fosters the protection of doctors and the alienation of those who complain," Prof O'Boyle said.