The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has published a set of quality standards which tell members of the public what they can expect when a complaint is made against a government department.
The PHSO makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England, UK government departments and some other UK public organisations.
Its new standards are set out in a service charter, which also includes five things that the PHSO expects to see from organisations that receive complaints from the public.
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The ombudsman wants organisations to give people a clear final answer to their complaint, and to make people aware of the PHSO when they give this answer.
People making a complaint should be treated “with courtesy and respect”, according to the charter, and organisations should work the PHSO to address complaints “as quickly and effectively as possible,” including giving the Ombudsman “all the information we ask for in a reasonable amount of time”.
The PHSO also says it will clearly explain decisions on complaints and how those decisions were reached, in a bid to improve the public’s confidence in the service.
The charter is published alongside detailed guidance about what happens when a complaint is brought to the PHSO. Both of these documents were drawn up after public consultation.
Outgoing Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor said: “We recognise it will take time for us to meet these commitments but we will work hard to do so and will be open and transparent about our progress.”
From the end of 2016, the PHSO will start publishing regular performance updates on its website. This will include the length of time investigations have taken and customer satisfaction data.
Mellor is set to leave the PHSO later this year, after offering her resignation amid concern over the way she handled correspondence about the PHSO’s former managing director Mick Martin.