Commenting on the Local Government Ombudsman's report highlighting the number of complaints it has received about adult social care in 2014/15, and the reasons behind the complaints, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor confirms that the number of unresolved complaints receive about the NHS in England and UK government departments is steadily increasing.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) is publishing its complaints statistics for adult social care – including data for both councils and private care providers – in its Annual Review of Adult Social Care Complaints 2014/15. The report is being published as part of the LGO’s role as the social care ombudsman, to encourage transparency and accountability across the whole adult social care complaints system.

 

The Office of the Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman (EOI) launched the November issue of its regular newsletter, which can now be accessed here.

Ombudswoman Lora Vidović followed an invitation from the Austrian Ombudsman Board and came to Vienna for a two-day visit to exchange experiences and expertise on the ex-post as well as preventive work of the two offices.

The Office of the Ontario Ombudsman celebrated 40 years of helping citizens resolve issues with the provincial government on 30 October 2015. The occasion comes as the office embarks on an historic expansion of its mandate – something the first Ombudsman began calling for in 1975.

The Northern Ireland Ombudsman (NIO) and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), with funding support from the IOI, have undertaken a three year project to optimize the resources of their respective organisations with the objective of improved outcomes for the service user and enhanced public services overall. In May 2016 the offices of the NIO and the NIHRC warmly invite you to participate in an International Conference which will focus on sharing the features and benefits of the developed human rights manual.

The Victorian Ombudsman has commenced an ‘own motion’ investigation into the management of workers compensation claims in Victoria.

The Office of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman published its 2014-15 annual report. It charts another year of achievement for the SPSO. We handled a record number of complaints about public services, and further improved our productivity and the quality of our service.  We helped almost 5,600 people, providing independent advice and support and looking into the issues people brought us where we could. Our investigations led to over 1,400 recommendations for improvement to public services.