Third Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2022–23

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.

The PHSO reported that it returned to normal operating levels by March 2024 and is close to meeting its KPI targets for case closure times, providing overall performance metrics. However, it did not commit to presenting separate figures for COVID-19 backlog cases versus new cases as recommended.

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.

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.

The government's response did not address the recommendation about promoting a culture and training supportive of mediation. Instead, it discussed the PHSO's 'severity of injustice' approach to case management and its ongoing testing of a new 'public value model' for triage.

The government's response did not address the recommendation to set out publicly the criteria for reviewing its 'severity of injustice' approach to case management. Instead, it detailed improvements to Service Charter scores, queue reduction, staff training, and complainant surveys.

The government's response did not address steps to improve KPI scores related to information gathering and decision making. Instead, it focused on staff turnover figures and the review of its hybrid working policy, scheduled for summer 2024.

The government's response did not address staff turnover or hybrid working policies. Instead, it outlined the PHSO's five-year Digital, Data and Technology strategy, its ambition to be a leading digital ombudsman, and a commitment to report back on financial savings from this strategy.

The government's response did not address the request for an update on digital strategy progress or financial savings. Instead, it discussed the need for legislative reform for the PHSO and called on political parties to include such commitments in their manifestos.

The government's response did not address legislative reform for the PHSO. Instead, it outlined lessons learned and best practices adopted from international collaborations, such as the Canadian 'Complaints Champions' model, 'roadshows' based on Dutch and Western Australian approaches, and a learning exchange on mediation with the Israeli Ombudsman.

The government's response did not outline lessons learned from collaboration with other ombudsmen. Instead, it detailed the successful pilot and rollout of NHS Complaint Standards, the launch of UK Central Government Complaint Standards, and the provision of training to NHS and government staff, with bespoke training for government departments expected by June 2024.

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.

The government agrees to strongly encourage departments to adopt the Complaint Standards, noting early adopters, but rejects mandating their use across all organisations due to their diversity, preferring a flexible approach.