Complaining can make things better. Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. How we can help MPs

Transcription

1 Complaining can make things better. Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman How we can help MPs

2 We can help MPs deal with complaints from constituents about the NHS in England, UK government departments and other UK public organisations. Who we are We have a unique role in the relationship between members of the public and government departments. We were set up by Parliament to provide an independent service to handle complaints about the NHS in England, UK government departments and other UK public organisations. We are not part of the NHS or government. Our role We make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by the organisation in question. We do this independently and impartially. Our services are free. How your role as an MP links with ours Legislation gives you a key role in handling complaints from your constituents: we can only consider cases which relate to UK government departments and other UK public organisations if we are asked to do so by MPs. We have more flexibility around NHS cases: your constituents can come to us directly, or you can ask us to consider cases they bring to you.

3 Our service If someone believes they have suffered hardship or injustice because an organisation has not acted properly or fairly, or has provided a poor service, they should first complain to the organisation concerned so that it has a chance to put things right. If, after the organisation has responded, they are still unhappy about the outcome of their complaint, they can ask us to look into it and make a final decision. If we decide we can t help, we will explain why. If we decide we can look at a case in detail we listen carefully to both sides, collect facts to establish what has happened and compare that to what should have happened. We then take a decision. We may decide that the organisation has done the right thing to resolve a complaint. If we come to this conclusion we will explain why. If we decide an organisation has acted wrongly, we say so, explain why, and recommend that it put things right. Our recommendations may include things many people have told us are important to them: that the organisation explains how we got things wrong, apologises, and says how it will learn from the case and improve its service. We were set up primarily to put things right for individuals who have suffered hardship or injustice. But we share general lessons from the many cases we consider. We do this with Parliament, the public organisations that people complain about, and with the organisations that regulate and set standards for them.

4 Helping constituents use our service There are three key checks which will help you give your constituents initial guidance: 1 Has your constituent completed the complaints process of the organisation in question? People can ask us to look into their complaint if they are unhappy with the organisation s final response. Occasionally we get involved before that stage if an organisation is clearly not making progress with the complaint within a reasonable timescale. 2 Is the case being brought to us in time? Generally we only consider cases which someone has brought to you within a year of their first becoming aware that they wanted to complain. There are some exceptions to this, such as a delay following a bereavement. 3 Is the case in our jurisdiction? We can only consider cases where we have been given the ability to do so by Parliament: the NHS in England, UK government departments and other UK public organisations.

5 Here are some examples of cases about organisations in, and not in, our jurisdiction: NHS cases from England NHS cases from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales Three key checks will help your constituents Benefits cases from across the UK Public sector housing cases The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has responsibility for social care issues. We work with the LGO on complaints about both health and social care provision. You can find a list of the organisations in our jurisdiction on our website along with details of other ombudsman services which may cover areas we don t. If you have any questions you can contact our dedicated contact points for MPs and staff. MP hotline: MP address: MP@ombudsman.org.uk

6 Bringing a case to us Complaints about UK government departments and other public organisations We can only take on a constituent s case if they refer it to us through an MP. Guidance notes and a form are available on our website. Complaints about the NHS in England If a constituent has a complaint about NHS services, the MP can ask us to investigate or they can ask us direct. Guidance notes and a form are available on our website. We also have an online form which people can use to submit their complaint to us. People can also make complaints to us over the phone. It helps to read the appropriate guidance notes before calling us, as this indicates what information we will ask for during the conversation.

7 Our relationship with Parliament We are accountable directly to Parliament through the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC). We present our annual report and accounts to Parliament, which form the basis for an annual scrutiny session by PACAC. Our accounts are audited by the National Audit Office. PACAC may hold its own hearings on these reports and other committees of the House may also do so. Organisations comply with over 99% of our recommendations. In the very rare cases when an organisation does not accept our recommendations, we can ask PACAC to support us in holding it to account. Our main publications are: statistical summaries of cases brought to us for the NHS in England and UK Government summaries of selected investigations, which we produce several times a year reports on specific issues arising from the complaints we receive, such as Dying without dignity on end-of-life care and What does our work say about dental charging? Complaining can make things better.

8 If you want to direct a constituent to us, our contact details are: Visit Call You can contact us from a textphone on if you are deaf or have problems using a standard telephone phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk Text call back with your name and mobile number to and we will call you back Fax Write to Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP Follow us on: July 2015