BackRegarding the Government’s initial response to the Mid Staffordshire NHS Public Inquiry Report, Dame Julie Mellor, the Health Service Ombudsman, said: “Putting the patient where they should be – right at the heart of the NHS - requires significant change in the culture, systems and processes of the NHS and the government’s response is an important first step.
In particular, we welcome the focus on complaints and the critical role complaint information plays in indicating early symptoms of a problem within an organisation. Complaints are key to learning and improving – and the government’s response is right to point this out. Ensuring that hospital trust boards receive and take action from meaningful complaint information to identity patterns, trends and themes will be central to making this change happen.
As Parliament’s Ombudsman - independent of both government and the NHS - we have a unique perspective and look forward to playing a part in helping the NHS improve the way it handles complaints.”
Source: Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
