BackThe Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has embarked on the second stage of its modernisation drive to radically change the service it provides to people with complaints about the NHS in England and UK government departments and their agencies, such as the Child Maintenance Service and the DVLA.
The first phase of the modernisation drive focused on delivering what people told the Ombudsman Service they wanted – more investigations. It investigated six times more complaints in 2013-14 than the previous year – 2,199 cases compared to 384 in 2012-13 – and halved the time it takes to do an investigation.
The next phase of the modernisation programme will focus on what people can expect from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigations and service. It recognises that sometimes its service has not been as good as it would have liked, and will be open and honest about this, ensuring lessons are learnt.
The Ombudsman Service will be developing a charter, which will be a set of promises to service users, so the public and service providers know what they can expect from the service.
The charter will be based on feedback, research and engagement with service users, past and present, consumer and advocacy groups and organisations we investigate. It will give people a clear understanding of the time it will take to complete their investigation, how the investigation will be carried out and be more open and transparent throughout the investigation process.
For more information, please visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's website.
Source: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, UNITED KINGDOM
