Recommendation 16: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
From Thirlwall Inquiry Final Report, published 15 September 2026.
Recommendation
The functions of the National Guardian’s Office should be taken over by the Parliamentary
and Health Service Ombudsman in England. The Ombudsman’s powers must be increased
to include:
a. investigating complaints that whistleblowing in the NHS has not been dealt
with adequately
b. assisting whistleblowers by referring their concerns to the relevant NHS bodies
and overseeing the response.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry asked the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to take over whistleblowing oversight functions. In September 2026, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care stated that the government "will, of course, consider the entire report and set out a full response" (Department of Health and Social Care response, Sep 2026). The Minister gave this oral statement on the day the report was published, naming neither this recommendation nor the Ombudsman or the National Guardian's Office (Department of Health and Social Care response, Sep 2026). The record holds nothing dated later than the response of September 2026 (Department of Health and Social Care response, Sep 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 2 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
No formal government response published. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care's oral statement of 15 September 2026, made on the day the Inquiry's report was published, names neither this recommendation nor the National Guardian's Office or the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. It says the government "will, of course, consider the entire report and set out a full response". No later government response to this recommendation was found in the sources searched on 28 September 2026.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has been found in the sources searched (last checked 2 October 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Responsible bodies
Who has spoken
- Department of Health and Social Care
Response