BackThe Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is pleased to welcome the Local Government Ombudsman Dr Jane Martin to its unitary board to ensure closer working between the two organisations.
The two ombudsman services – the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) already carry out joint investigations. But both are calling for a single Public Services Ombudsman to handle complaints about all public services, including health and social care in England. This will make it easier for people to complain as it will provide a more consistent approach to complaint handling and it will ensure a more efficient service. Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor is already a member of the LGO's board, which is formally referred to as the Commission for Local Administration.
The PHSO investigates complaints about NHS services and government departments and its agencies, whilst the LGO investigates complaints about councils, other authorities and organisations including school admissions appeal panels and adult social care providers, such as care homes. Joint investigations by the PHSO and the LGO have been about individuals let down by social care and NHS services, government departments and their agencies.
One joint investigation last year found service failure and maladministration on the part of a Youth Offending Team and a council, in the case of a vulnerable young man who was a robbery victim, because the Victim's Code was breached several times. The young man was treated in a 'degrading and inhumane manner' despite being the victim of a crime, the report said.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and chair of its board, Julie Mellor said: 'I am delighted that Dr Jane Martin has joined our board. We are both committed to securing a Public Ombudsman Service for England and the United Kingdom and working more closely together will help us to achieve that. 'We want complaints about public services to be handled by one ombudsman service so that so it can be dealt with by the same organisation throughout the complaints process.' Dr Martin joined the board as a non-executive member on 1 February 2014 before attending her first board meeting on 25 March.
Local Government Ombudsman Dr Jane Martin said: 'The Commission for Local Administration has benefited greatly, over many years, from the input that the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman has provided to our work. 'I welcome the opportunity that my appointment to PHSO's newly-formed board will give me to offer similar insight and scrutiny and to further build co-operation in areas where we need to work together. 'I am looking forward to sharing learning from our work and recent transformation to help inform PHSO as it develops its service to provide more impact for more people.'
The last joint investigation carried out by the PHSO and LGO, published on 3 March, found that a retired miner was denied the chance to die at home beside the brother he had lived with his whole life, because of a string of errors by the five organisations tasked with looking after him.
Source: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, UK
