Published: 16 December 2008
Ombudsman seeks to improve Public Services
Last week the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, published her report Improving public service: a matter of principle. This is her second report on how government bodies and the NHS handle complaints, and forms part of an ongoing series of complaint digests. Her first report Remedy in the NHS was published in June this year.
Improving public service: a matter of principle includes real cases from a range of public bodies and illustrates good and bad practice in dealing with complaints. Ms Abraham shares the lessons her Office has learnt from recent investigations and urges public bodies to improve public administration and complaint handling practices.
"I fully appreciate that when public bodies deliver services on a large scale, things can go wrong from time to time. The key is how they then deal with the mistake and put it right. Complaints are a valuable source of feedback and handled well, provide an opportunity to improve both service and reputation".
The cases highlighted illustrate how the Ombudsman's previous publications Principles of Good Administration and Principles for Remedy can be used to improve the outcome of complaints.
Ms Abraham says she is determined to make sure public bodies are aware of the standards she expects from them when providing services to the public.
"I am committed to do more to tell public bodies in my jurisdiction, including the National Health Service, the value of dealing with complaints promptly and effectively.
My Principles of Good Complaint Handling (published last month) gives further guidance to public bodies on dealing with complaints".
The six Principles in each case are: Getting it right, being customer focused, being open and accountable, acting fairly and proportionately, putting things right, and seeking continuous improvement.
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