BackJulie Mellor, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, has urged Government leaders not to ignore complaints which provide a vital opportunity to learn from mistakes and improve public services, as the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) published its report on their inquiry 'More complaints please!'.
The PASC report looked at how complaints are handled by government departments and agencies and highlighted that complaints provide an opportunity for public services to better understand the needs and motives of those that complain.
When things go wrong in public services they can have a devastating consequence on individuals. Examples include a young vulnerable man, who was the victim of a robbery, being treated in a 'degrading and inhumane manner' because a Youth Offending Team and local council failed to follow the Victims' Code. Other cases saw an elderly couple suffering from physical and emotional distress for two years due to problems with a faulty boiler, which was provided through the Government's Warm Front scheme. In another example, several individuals were forced to wait between five and eight years for UK visa to then be told that their application was invalid or on the wrong form. Good complaint handling can have an impact on whether customers feel satisfied with the service they are receiving.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Service is the final step for people who have been treated unfairly or received a poor service from the NHS in England, or a government department or agency.
Please find the full text on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s website.
Source: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, UK
