Ombudsman’s statement in response to the Health Select Committee’s report on complaints and raising concerns

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor said:

We are delighted the Health Select Committee is actively championing the implementation of our joint report, 

 which sets out what good complaint handling looks like from patients and service users' perspectives.

We now expect health and social care providers in England to implement the committee's recommendation to drive improvements in complaint handling by measuring whether the actions they are taking are making a difference for the patient experience.

We agree that the current system for complaint handling can be confusing for the public and that's why we have been calling for a single public ombudsman service that deals with complaints about health and social care. This will make it much easier for people to raise their complaints and concerns about public services.

We are pleased the Committee recognises the changes we have made, including giving more people justice by doing thousands of investigations every year.

Contact: Ben Miller

Phone: 0300 061 4324