Health Service Ombudsman to share more information about complaints with NHS
13 December 2010
The Health Service Ombudsman Ann Abraham has today set out a new policy on how her Office will share and publish more information about NHS complaints they receive. The Ombudsman’s publication, Sharing and Publishing Information about NHS Complaints, follows wide consultation and responds to calls from health service professionals and patient groups to share information more widely.
Under the new policy, which comes into effect on 1 January 2011, the Ombudsman will share all investigation reports with the relevant commissioning body and strategic health authority so that they can take account of these in their monitoring and oversight roles.
The Ombudsman will also pilot a targeted programme working initially with the 50 NHS trusts that her Office receives most complaints about to discuss learning points, identify what the NHS body in question has done well and highlight where improvements should be made.
The Ombudsman intends to put more information into the public domain by publishing an increasing number of reports relating to her work on NHS complaints. These will include an annual report on NHS complaint handling performance (the first was published in October this year, see www.ombudsman.org.uk), regular digests of case summaries, occasional reports on specific issues, and special reports on individual cases.
Responses to the Ombudsman’s consultation demonstrated an appetite within the NHS to share learning from complaints that the Ombudsman decides not to investigate as well as those which are taken forward for investigation. As a result, the Ombudsman has made proposals to the Secretary of State for Health to amend the existing legislation governing the Ombudsman’s work to remove the current constraints on sharing this information.
Commenting on the new policy, Ann Abraham said:
‘My Office is committed to providing more detailed information in order to share learning and improve policy and services for the public. We believe that these changes will allow us to provide the NHS with the information that they want and need to continue the process of listening to patients’ concerns and learning from complaints.
‘By implementing this approach my Office can continue to make a valuable contribution to improvements in the quality of service to which we are all committed.’
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Download the press release 
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Notes to Editors:
- Ann Abraham holds the post of Health Service Ombudsman for England. She is appointed by the Crown and is completely independent of Government and the NHS. Her role is to provide a service to the public by undertaking independent investigations into complaints that the NHS in England has not acted properly or fairly or has provided a poor service. There is no charge for using the Ombudsman’s service.
- The new policy will continue to protect the privacy of individuals involved in complaints. Investigation reports sent to commissioning bodies and strategic health authorities will not identify the complainant nor, generally, any other individual.
- The policy is available to download at www.ombudsman.org.uk.
- Media enquiries: For media enquiries, please call the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Press Office on 0300 061 4996 or email press@ombudsman.org.uk.
