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The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is asking people to help shape its new service promises in a public consultation, which opened yesterday.

It has been developed following extensive conversations with people about their experiences and expectations of the service to establish what needed to change, and forms part of the wider modernisation plans currently underway. It includes a number of promises to people who use the service including:

• Making the process as simple and accessible as possible
• Clearly explaining how decisions are reached and what information is used in the process
• Being clear about likely timescales of complaints and keeping complainants updated throughout.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor said:

"We want people to be confident that complaining is straightforward, fair and can make a difference.

"The service charter will help make sure people understand our role and what we can and can’t do so that they know what to expect from us and feel confident in the decisions we make.

"We want to hear people’s views on our promises in the service charter to ensure they resonate with both complainants and the organisations we investigate. I would urge anyone with an interest to share their views."

The charter also sets out what is expected of complainants and organisations under investigation to avoid unnecessary delays and ensure the full co-operation by all parties.

The charter will be underpinned by a new service model for staff, which is a new framework for how the organisation works and carries out investigations. It sets out clear expectations for staff to make sure they can deliver on the promises in the charter.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigates around 4,000 complaints a year. Around 80% of these are about the NHS in England and the rest are about UK government departments and other organisations. A snapshot of cases investigated by the Ombudsman are published on a regular basis online.

Notes to editors

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman makes final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by the NHS in England and UK government departments and other UK public organisations.

2. To have your say on the draft Service Charter, please visit:www.ombudsmanservicecharter.org.uk. Or you can view the draft charter here.
3. The consultation is open until Wednesday 13 January 2016.
4. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman will report on whether the promises in the service charter have been met on an annual basis.
5. For more information please contact Marina Soteriou on 0300 061 4996 or emailmarina.soteriou@ombudsman.org.uk.
6. If someone is unhappy about the service they have received from the NHS in England or a UK government department they should first make their complaint to the organisation in question and give them the chance to respond. If they’re not happy with how their complaint is dealt with, they can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman by calling 0345 015 4033 or find out how to complain on our website.

Contact: Marina Soteriou

Phone: 0300 061 4996