Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
1
Conclusion
Third Report - Parliamentary and Health…
Accepted
We have heard praise of the PHSO’s handling of casework, but we have also received evidence of concerns with some aspects of its service provision. The PHSO told us that it would reflect on the concerns about the service it provided to people with disabilities while outlining the measures it …
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We have heard praise of the PHSO’s handling of casework, but we have also received evidence of concerns with some aspects of its service provision. The PHSO told us that it would reflect on the concerns about the service it provided to people with disabilities while outlining the measures it takes to meet the needs of complainants. In its response to this report, the PHSO should outline to us the steps it proposes to take to address the concerns we have heard in our written evidence, in particular in relation to service provision to people with disabilities and the elderly.
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Government response AI summary
The PHSO committed to implementing disability awareness training for all staff in 2024-25, reviewing its house style and language guide for accessibility improvements, and leveraging its DDaT strategy to better understand and tailor services for disabled and elderly complainants.
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3
Conclusion
Third Report - Parliamentary and Health…
Accepted
We do not accept the Ombudsman’s argument that we would have been critical of the PHSO for setting lower, yet more realistic, targets for case resolution. The setting of unrealistic targets leads to them being missed, and draws unwarranted criticism where realistic targets would not do so. Rather, we are …
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We do not accept the Ombudsman’s argument that we would have been critical of the PHSO for setting lower, yet more realistic, targets for case resolution. The setting of unrealistic targets leads to them being missed, and draws unwarranted criticism where realistic targets would not do so. Rather, we are of the view that targets should be simultaneously ambitious and realistic, to allow the public and us to assess the performance of the organisation more clearly. In its response to this report, the PHSO should provide details of the methodology it uses for deciding its targets for how quickly it should resolve cases subject to further consideration, and outline any steps it will take to review that methodology to arrive at more realistic targets to be used in the future.
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Government response AI summary
The government states its current case resolution targets are based on best practice and are achievable, citing pre-pandemic performance. It indicates it will only reflect on KPIs and consider a review in the event of another significant impact on productivity.
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4
Conclusion
Third Report - Parliamentary and Health…
Accepted
We welcome the increase in the number of cases resolved by mediation and PHSO’s ambition to widen the range of cases resolved by mediation in 2023/24. The PHSO stressed that the cultural attitudes of stakeholders, notably in the NHS, were a barrier to increasing the number of cases resolved through …
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We welcome the increase in the number of cases resolved by mediation and PHSO’s ambition to widen the range of cases resolved by mediation in 2023/24. The PHSO stressed that the cultural attitudes of stakeholders, notably in the NHS, were a barrier to increasing the number of cases resolved through mediation. The PHSO should outline how it is working with stakeholders to place a stronger emphasis on mediation in the Complaint Standards for the NHS and for Government. The PHSO should also write to us before our next annual inquiry into the PHSO, setting out whether it has matched its ambition for 2023/24 to maintain the number of cases resolved by mediation and to appropriately widen the types of cases resolved to include more complex cases and cases beyond those focused on healthcare. It should also set out what its medium- and long-term aims are for mediation and the measures it is intending to take to achieve those aims. (Paragraph 23) 28 Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2022–23
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Government response AI summary
The government confirms it maintained the number of cases resolved by mediation and widened the types of cases in 2023-24. It commits to providing a further update on mediation prior to the Committee's next inquiry.
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12
Recommendation
Third Report - Parliamentary and Health…
Accepted
We welcome the progress that has been made in developing and rolling out Complaint Standards for the UK Government and the NHS. These Standards have the potential to improve the quality of public services and the handling of complaints. Ensuring that staff know about and act on these Standards is …
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We welcome the progress that has been made in developing and rolling out Complaint Standards for the UK Government and the NHS. These Standards have the potential to improve the quality of public services and the handling of complaints. Ensuring that staff know about and act on these Standards is critical to achieving these goals. In its response to this report, the PHSO should set out both the proportion and number of all relevant NHS and UK Government staff who have been trained in its respective Complaint Standards, broken down by department where appropriate, and inform us of its targets for training over the 2023–24 financial year.
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Government response AI summary
The PHSO reports that over 1,248 NHS learners registered and over 720 people from 145 NHS organisations completed training courses by April 2024. It also states that bespoke training for government departments is being tested and expected to launch by June 2024.
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