The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (the Committee) has published its report on the performance of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
What is the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman?
The first step in making a complaint against a healthcare provider is to raise your concerns with the hospital or doctor directly. They are then required to investigate and respond to your complaint. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you can take then take the matter to the PHSO for further review.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) examines complaints from individuals about public services that have not been resolved by UK Government Departments, the NHS in England, and other public bodies. The Ombudsman is independent of the Government, the NHS, and of Parliament.
The Committee’s Findings
The Committee’s report raises concerns about the PHSO continuing its policy of not considering less serious health complaints. This policy was introduced to reduce the backlog of cases resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was noted that in the past 18 months, around 1,500 cases had not been taken forward as a result of this approach and that the PHSO has decided to continue this approach to prioritisation until the end of the business year 2022-23.
Despite successfully reducing caseload levels, the Committee does not see the policy as an “appropriate long-term solution”.
The report says it is “regrettable” that there is no reference in the recent corporate strategy for 2022-25 to set out how the PHSO will cope with the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 and high levels of cases.
The Committee also notes that it has received written evidence expressing dissatisfaction with the PHSO’s handling of complaints, and that they have failed to meet targets for time taken to close cases.
The report says:
“We agree with the Peer Review Panel that the PHSO should provide clear reporting in an accessible format on delivering the Corporate Strategy for 2022-25 and that the PHSO should put in place detailed plans for dealing with the potential service demand implications of its increased public awareness and accessibility. In its response to this Report, the PHSO should provide further information on how an empathetic and timely service will be delivered if service demand increases…”
The Committee recognised that the PHSO had made significant efforts to cope with the pressures on services as a result of the pandemic and that the backlog of cases had been reduced. However, it was noted that there were a number of pieces of written evidence received during the Committee’s inquiry highlighting perceived poor handling of cases, and this remained a significant concern for service users.
This included concerns regarding:
- Lengthy investigations.
- Poor communication by complaint handlers.
- Sudden changes of caseworker mid-way through investigations.
- Loss of records.
- Issues with the complexity of the complaints process.
Comment
Whilst it is pleasing to see that the PHSO has been making efforts to reduce backlogs with complaints, there are still issues to be addressed.
The Committee’s Chair, William Wragg, said: “when individuals are failed by a public service, they deserve the right for their complaint to be heard and any injustice redressed” and this must be the correct approach.
Patients should feel confident that their complaints are given fair and thorough consideration and are properly addressed. Clearly, there are worries that this might not currently be the case as the PHSO continues to experience problems with its service.
It is important then that the PHSO take into account what the Committee has said in its report and take action accordingly.
Making a complaint to the NHS
The NHS has a specific complaints process whereby you can raise your concerns with them, and they are required to investigate and respond within a certain time frame.
Even if you ultimately consider bringing a clinical negligence claim, making a complaint in the first instance can be the most sensible starting point.
When discussing your potential claim with you, we will consider whether it would be worthwhile to make a formal NHS complaint in the first instance and can talk you through the process.
Who can make a complaint?
Under The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, a complaint can be made by:
- A person who receives or has received services from a responsible body; or
- A person who is affected, or likely to be affected, by the action, omission, or decision of the responsible body which is the subject of the complaint.
A complaint can also be made by a person acting on behalf of a person who:
- Has died
- Is a child
- Is unable to make a complaint themselves because of (i) physical incapacity, or (ii) lack of capacity within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
- Has requested a representative to act on their behalf
How can Nelsons help?
For advice on the subjects discussed in this article, please get in touch with a member of our Medical Negligence team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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