Press releases

Woman assaulted overseas told: ‘carry on with your holiday and enjoy it’ by Foreign Office

29 April 2022

A woman who reported a sexual assault overseas was “treated with contempt” and failed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the public services watchdog has found. Ms B contacted FCDO to report that she had been raped while...

Press releases

Health and social care watchdogs release joint guidance to tackle common mistakes seen in the aftercare of mental health in-patients

8 April 2022

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) have released new guidance to tackle common and repeated mistakes seen in the aftercare of patients receiving support under the Mental Health Act. PHSO...

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Environment Agency’s failure to correct permit error caused prolonged suffering to small family business, Whitehall watchdog finds

30 March 2022

The Environment Agency (the Agency) caused prolonged suffering and years of uncertainty to a South-West family business when it refused to fix mistakes made during an application to harness a renewable energy source.   Brothers Steve and Ewan Earl run a...

Press releases

New central Government Complaint Standards will improve outcomes for all

21 March 2022

Public services would be significantly improved if complaints made about central Government departments were easier to make and quickly resolved, the public sector watchdog has said, as new Complaint Standards are unveiled by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Published...

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Failure to act on sepsis led to man’s death, Ombudsman finds

3 March 2022

A man died after an NHS trust failed to diagnose and treat sepsis quickly enough, a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigation has found. Stephen Durkin, a factory worker from Hereford, died after suffering organ failure from sepsis. The life-threatening...

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Over 118,000 people denied compensation from DWP after benefits error cut payments

13 January 2022

Over 118,000 people with disabilities and health problems are facing injustice by the Department of Work and Pensions after being denied the right to compensation following a government blunder over benefit payments, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has said...

Press releases

International Ombudsman organisations urge UK Government to review Ombudsman’s access to ‘safe space’

9 November 2021

As ombudsman organisations from across the globe gather in Manchester this week, the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) has ‘strongly endorsed’ support for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to have access to ‘safe space’. Proposed new UK Government legislation...

Press releases

Barred from justice: vulnerable people locked out of legal aid to challenge unlawful deportation orders

3 November 2021

Three vulnerable people living in the UK were locked out of accessing the justice system to challenge deportation orders because of conflicting government procedures and lengthy delays. These are the findings of a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) investigation...

Press releases

Women’s State Pension age communications inadequate, Ombudsman finds

20 July 2021

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has found failings in the way the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) communicated changes to women’s State Pension age. The 1995 Pensions Act changed the law so that women would no longer...

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Prioritise improvements to imaging as NHS recovers from pandemic, urges Ombudsman

8 July 2021

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has written to the Government urging it to prioritise improvements to NHS imaging services as part of the health sector's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter highlights findings from the Ombudsman's report...

Press releases

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