We recently received a letter of thanks from a man who had made a complaint to my Office. He wrote: ‘Today I could tell you actually cared about me and to be honest that was refreshing. As you can imagine, being a lifer in a maximum security prison, we don’t often have outside help. I just wanted you all to know I’m grateful.’
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman offers access to justice for individuals whose complaints about public services have not been listened to or satisfactorily resolved elsewhere. We provide a service for everyone who contacts us, from providing advice on how and where to complain, to investigating injustice and recommending ways in which to put things right.
This Annual Report recounts some of the different ways we worked last year to resolve injustice, maladministration or poor service by government departments and agencies, and the NHS in England. You can read about how we secured a specialist wheelchair for a woman with disabilities and broke through bureaucratic gridlock on behalf of a man seriously injured in an assault. We intervened to put things right in a family’s immigration application and recommended new guidance for government on data sharing.
Often, people who contact us feel frustrated or worn down by what has happened or their experience of complaining about it. The complaints system can be complex to understand and navigate and we work hard to ensure that our service is accessible to everyone, no matter what their circumstances, or what their communication needs are. As we explain in How we Help, we take time to advise and assist people with making their complaint, and to find swift and direct solutions where possible. As a result, only a few hundred of the complaints we received last year needed formal investigation; the majority of matters brought to us were addressed in other, simpler ways.
Complaints about parliamentary bodies, including government departments, must be referred to us by a Member of Parliament. In April 2010, access to this part of our service was suspended for over five weeks when Parliament was dissolved before the General Election. Members of the public with a complaint about a government department or agency were left hanging on until after the election. Despite MPs’ participation in the complaints system, the extra stage can deter some people from making a complaint and may prolong the wait for resolution for others. Once the new Parliament was in session, we worked to ensure all MPs, and their staff, were aware of the essential role they play in enabling access to the Ombudsman. By the end of the year, almost every MP had referred complaints to us.
There is a range of views amongst MPs, advice and advocacy groups and the public about the benefits and disadvantages of this MP filter.
Our current Direct Access public consultation, available on our website, seeks to capture these views to inform the debate about the best way to enable the access to justice the Ombudsman’s service provides. We will report on the results of the consultation in the autumn.
During the year, our work on the Equitable Life affair, one of the most protracted and complex cases undertaken by my Office, came to a close. Soon after the election, the Coalition Government announced its intention to implement the recommendations of my July 2008 report on the regulatory failure of Equitable Life and establish an independent compensation scheme for policy holders. The Government’s decisions about how much and who to compensate via the scheme were endorsed by Parliament. Parliament’s decision brings my involvement in the matter to an end. The Equitable Life case has been ever present throughout my time as Ombudsman. It is a relief that this unnecessarily protracted saga is entering its final stages, but having heard many accounts of hardship from policyholders over the years, I understand the disappointment of those whose circumstances mean they are excluded from the compensation scheme.
From time to time, the maladministration or injustice uncovered by our work is so serious that it warrants Parliament’s attention. The failure of the NHS to provide even the most basic standards of care for ten people over the age of 65 was one such circumstance. The stories told in our Care and Compassion? report struck a chord with people of all ages and triggered a national debate about how to improve the quality of care for older people in hospital or under the care of their GP. Sadly, access to justice came too late for nine of the ten people featured in the report, who died either during the events that led to our investigation or shortly afterwards. We are continuing to discuss the report’s conclusions with politicians, regulators and the NHS. I am optimistic that the stories in our report will be a catalyst for wide reaching and profound change in the way older people are treated in the health service.
This is my last report as Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman before I retire towards the end of this year. I am grateful to the many people who have assisted and supported me throughout my time as Ombudsman. Parliament, through the Public Administration Select Committee, has been a staunch supporter of its Ombudsman and the Committee has been insightful in its scrutiny of the way we operate. Members of my Advisory Board and Audit Committee have been the best of critical friends, listening, supporting and challenging us continually to look for improvements in how we work. Above all, my staff continue to provide a high quality and accessible service for everyone who contacts us. The best testament to the difference they make can be found in the words of our customers, which are included throughout this report. I am certain that those who seek access to justice via the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in future will be in good hands.
