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To: Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health; Bernard Jenkin, Chair of the Public Administration Select Committee

Make NHS Complaints Count!

When one complains to NHS bodies such as hospital trusts one is often fobbed off with half answers, non answers, and other tactics to bemuse and bewilder.

Complaining to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is an even worse experience. Complex complaints that have to be taken in their entirety are broken into bite sized chunks and handled ineffectively. Findings ignore evidence or give undue weight to the NHS's side.

The current Ombudsman talks the talk, but fails to implement it by handling complaints effectively.

Please ensure that the NHS together with the ombudsman, supposed to be the final arbiter of complaints, are each held accountable. Of these two the ombudsman must be a high priority to fix. The PHS Ombudsman is broken and must be held to account and improved

Why is this important?

When we are treated in hospital or by another practitioner we need to be able to trust that we receive correct, well administered, well handled treatment.

When we complain we need to see clearly that our complaint is well handled, and, most important, that the outcome of the complaint is carried through in practice.

When we are forced, because of the closure of ranks, to complain to the Ombudsman we expect fair and even handed treatment of our complaint, with high professional standards.

This is about us, our lives and in some cases our deaths. We need to be able to trust hospitals, doctors and nurses. And, when it all goes wrong and we have to complain, we need to be sure that our complaint is given a fair hearing.

We need to be able to trust the Ombudsman. Today we cannot.

Categories

Updates

2014-12-14 17:43:48 +0000

Today's Sunday Express at http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/adam-helliker/546807/Cross-Bencher-Dame-Julie-Mellor-Alan-Johnson-and-William-Hague-s-meat-fixation?utm_content=bufferb926f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer has an snippet about the PHS Ombudsman's pre-appointment promises and her current adherence.

We'd like to see Julie Mellor on TV more often to be asked hard questions. We do not want to see her on a sofa having a cosy chat. We want her to do the job we all expect the Ombudsman to do, and to stop the PR puffery.

2014-12-10 08:50:35 +0000

Today the Patients Association has published another damning report. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30395267 and still the politicians do not act. IT;s down to us, the ordinary folk, to make a difference. And we need to get to 100,000 signatures.

But this only affects those it affects. Do we need to wait for 100,000 people to have had the Ombudsman fail us?

2014-12-03 14:58:13 +0000

500 signatures reached

2014-12-02 23:20:50 +0000

Irene Morris lost: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30279915

We are not surprised. It's hard to win against something that can absorb all blows without flinching

2014-12-02 13:25:42 +0000

Mother in High Court challenge against NHS ombudsman, from the BBC:

The full article is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30279915 and is worth reading. You must make your own mind up on what Irene Morris has been through after the death of her daughter. But one thing is for sure: The PHS Ombudsman has let her down so badly she is risking the enormous cost of a High Court Action.

2014-11-20 11:04:39 +0000

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has just published a glossy new PR based "Report" to make us feel that our complaints are being handled well. It's out now, today. And the words look just fine. But the underlying organisation must change.

Anyone can be confident in *making* a complaint. We have to be confident that the complaint will make a difference and be investigated properly.

You should read the report at http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/28774/Vision_report.pdf and form your own conclusions

2014-11-18 17:41:27 +0000

The Patients Association has just published a damning report on the Ombudsman. Read it at http://www.patients-association.org.uk/Portals/0/PHSO%20-%20The%20%27Peoples%27%20Ombudsman%20-%20How%20it%20Failed%20us%20-%20FINAL3.pdf and pay particular attention to the conclusions on page 35 and beyond

2014-08-05 09:11:26 +0100

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has published their business plan for 2014-2015. It makes great reading: http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/26757/PHSO_Business_plan_2014-15.pdf

So do all the PHSO's public statements, but it only talks the talk. Complaints handling remains broken.

2014-07-31 17:48:14 +0100

With input from Dr Sarah Wollaston, MP, we have identified that the Public Administration Select Committee has responsibility for the Public and Health Service Ombudsman. We have added Bernard Jenkin, the current Chair, to the recipients.

2014-07-29 09:39:17 +0100

On hitting the 300 signature mark we have notified Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, chair of the Health Select Committee, of the petition. As you will see, Dr Wollaston has impressive credentials for her post. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Wollaston and http://www.drsarah.org.uk/ both show this.

Most important to read is the page on her own site about the NHS: http://www.drsarah.org.uk/issues/nhs

2014-07-09 20:34:22 +0100

100 signatures reached

2014-07-07 14:57:26 +0100

50 signatures reached

2014-07-07 09:44:18 +0100

25 signatures reached

2014-07-06 00:08:28 +0100

10 signatures reached