In this month’s edition of the Ombudsman’s findings, we highlight the importance of having robust systems and polices in place to ensure efficient and uninterrupted service delivery.
This month we published decision reports from 11 complaints investigated by the Ombudsman. Ten of these were about Health services and one was about Local Government. The outcome of these 11 complaints were
- Fully upheld: 5
- Some upheld: 2
- Not upheld: 4
Recommendations and feedback
We made 22 recommendations to public bodies. Ten of these were about steps public bodies could take to learn and improve from the complaint.
A number of recommendations were made to ensure that organisations have efficient service policies and systems in place. For example, public bodies should have clear and accessible escalation procedures to follow if an issue remains unresolved. Similarly, polices and practices should be reviewed if not working as intended.
We made a further five recommendations to help public bodies improve their complaint handling. These asked organisations to ensure complainants were advised of delays in the complaints procedure and were given thorough and complete complaint responses. We also highlighted the importance of ensuring all staff are aware of the complaints procedure, particularly front-line staff.
Our Good Complaints Handling online course is specifically designed for staff who handle complaints at stage 1 of the Model Complaints Handling Procedure. Why not take a look at our training webpage and if you have any questions get in touch.
All our published decision reports can be read in full on our website.