The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has launched its new five-year strategy, marking a renewed commitment to delivering fair and impartial justice for individuals and a greater focus on its role in improving public services.
The Ombudsman investigates complaints ranging from issues with child maintenance, driving licences and immigration, to serious failings in the NHS, including delayed treatment, misdiagnosis and avoidable harm.
The new strategy, running from April 2026 to March 2031, sets out a vision to become a more established and influential voice in public service improvement, raising standards and driving system-level change across the NHS, government departments and other public bodies.
Alongside providing independent redress for individuals, the organisation will take a more active role in using complaints data and wider evidence to identify risks, prevent harm and strengthen accountability.
The strategy focuses on three priorities:
- Driving public service improvement: Focusing on systemic issues, making evidence and data more accessible, working with partners to set standards, and tracking the impact of recommendations.
- Improving the user experience: Creating a clearer, more accessible and person-centred service, using digital tools and AI-enabled pathways to reduce delays and improve engagement.
- Raising awareness and trust: Building a stronger identity, supporting Parliamentary scrutiny, and reaching underrepresented groups whose voices are often unheard.
The strategy also announces a new chapter for the future of PHSO. In late 2026 the PHSO will be changing its name to better reflect the wider mission to improve public services, becoming the Public Service Ombudsman. The change will make it clearer what the organisation does, helping more people understand how it can support them and how it uses complaints to improve public services.
Ombudsman Paula Sussex CBE said:
“Public services are under immense pressure, and trust between citizens and the state is fragile. Mistakes will happen – how those mistakes are addressed, and what is learned from them, is crucial to rebuilding that trust.
“People need to know their voice will not disappear into the system and that their voices can lead to meaningful change.
“Our strategy marks a new chapter. Alongside delivering fair outcomes for individuals, we will take a more active role in helping public services learn from mistakes, prevent harm and improve for everyone.
“This means identifying risks earlier, identifying and tackling root causes with partners, and strengthening accountability across public services.
“Our name change reflects our mission — creating a clear, recognisable identity so people can find us, understand what we do, and trust our role in shaping better public services.”
The work of PHSO takes place in a challenging environment where demand for Ombudsman services is increasing. Last year, the NHS received more than 256,000 written complaints - almost double the number a decade ago - while PHSO considered over 43,000 complaints, over 14% higher than the year before.
The cost of failing to learn from complaints is significant. Statutory inquiries exceeded £130 million last year, and the NHS spends billions treating harm that could have been prevented. Complaints provide an early warning of where services are going wrong and must be used to drive improvement, not just respond when things go wrong.