2 Scrutiny of the work of the Parliamentary
and Health Service Ombudsman
10. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
(PHSO) is responsible for considering complaints by the public
that UK Government departments, public bodies and the NHS in England
have not acted properly or fairly or have provided a poor service.
The Ombudsman is independent of both the Government and the Civil
Service and is the final adjudicator of NHS complaints in England.[5]
Under House of Commons Standing Orders we have the power to "examine
the reports" of the Ombudsman.[6]
The current Ombudsman is Dame Julie Mellor who has held the post
since January 2012.[7]
11. As part of our scrutiny of the work of the PHSO,
we published a report in April 2014 calling for a people's ombudsman
service.[8] This report
highlighted the outdated nature of the framework in which the
PHSO operates and made a number of recommendations on how to improve
it. These included: allowing citizens to directly access the PHSO
about public services, without having to take their complaint
through their MP; enabling complaints to be made by telephone
and online; giving the Ombudsman "own-initiative" powers
to investigate areas of concern in government departments, agencies
and the NHS without the need to first receive a complaint; and
strengthening the accountability of the Ombudsman. In conducting
the inquiry, we heard directly from members of the public, holding
an informal meeting with people who had submitted information
to us about their experience of complaining to PHSO. We also hosted
a forum discussion on the MoneySavingExpert website to help shape
our evidence session with the PHSO. This experience has led us
to change the way we respond to direct approaches from those who
have complained through PHSO and who have expressed dissatisfaction.
We now take a closer interest in feedback from those who have
complained through PHSO, though we continue to respect the independence
of PHSO's adjudications. PASC is not and cannot become a mechanism
for appealing against PHSO's decisions. We can however learn much
from understanding the issues which people raise with us in respect
of PHSO, and improve our scrutiny and support for what needs to
change at PHSO.[9]
12. In a parallel inquiry to our inquiry Time
for a People's Ombudsman Service, we looked at the efficacy
of systems across Government for handling complaints. Our Report,
More complaints please! concluded that the Government must
ensure that leaders in public services value complaints as being
critical to improving, and learning about, their service.[10]
Our recommendations have been taken up by the Cabinet Office,
which is reviewing how complaints handling in government could
be better co-ordinated and thus improved.[11]
13. This work also prompted us, as a Committee, to
change the way we scrutinise the reports of the Ombudsman. We
now hold hearings on PHSO's thematic reports, to interrogate and
hold to account those who must respond to its recommendations,
in the same way as the Public Accounts Committee has historically
held hearings on National Audit Office reports. The first of these
sessions, looking at two of the Ombudsman's reports—on severe
sepsis and on midwifery supervision and regulation—was held
in September 2014.[12]
On a previous occasion in 2011 we had similarly examined an Ombudsman
report on Equitable Life.[13]
14. More recently, we have looked at how clinical
incidents are investigated in the NHS, in the hope of achieving
quicker and more effective resolution of incidents of clinical
failure locally, leading to a substantial reduction in the number
of people whose cases reach as far as the Ombudsman.[14]
We concluded that the current system is not fit for purpose. We
therefore recommended that local investigative capacity should
be strengthened across the NHS. These local systems should be
supported by a new, single, independent and accountable investigative
body to provide national leadership. Since our inquiry concluded
taking evidence, the Government has accepted the principle of
this proposal. This should serve as a resource of skills and expertise
for the conduct of patient safety incident investigations, and
to act as a catalyst to promote a just and open culture across
the whole health system.
5 Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 Back
6
House of Commons Standing Orders, December 2013, S.O. No. 146 Back
7
Public Administration Select Committee, Ninth Report of Session
2010-12, Pre-appointment hearing for the post of Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,
HC 1220-I, July 2011 Back
8
Public Administration Select Committee, Fourteenth Report of Session
2013-14, Time for a People's Ombudsman Service, HC 655, April
2014 Back
9
Public Administration Select Committee, Sixth Report of Session
2014-15, Investigating clinical incidents in the NHS, HC 886,
March 2015 Back
10
Public Administration Select Committee, Twelfth Report of 2013-14,
More complaints please!, HC 229, April 2014 Back
11
Public Administration Select Committee, Third Special Report of
Session 2014-15, More Complaints Please! and Time for a People's Ombudsman Service: Government Responses to the Committee's Twelfth and Fourteenth Reports of Session 2013-14,
HC 618, September 2014 Back
12
Oral evidence taken on 10 September 2014, (2014-15), HC 616, Q
1-99, and oral evidence taken on 10 September 2014, (2014-15),
HC 623, Q 1-49 Back
13
Public Administration Select Committee, Third Report of Session
2010-11, Equitable Life, HC 485, October 2010 Back
14
Public Administration Select Committee, Sixth Report of Session
2014-15, Investigating clinical incidents in the NHS, HC 886,
March 2015 Back
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