Removing barriers to our service
We commissioned Opinion Research Services (ORS) to find out what happens when complainants come to us too soon and why they do not return to us. They carried out an online survey and in-depth interviews. We shared the findings from this research across our organisation to look at how we can make the process of making a complaint clearer, quicker and more accessible for everyone. We are committed to listening to this feedback to make improvements to our service and shared our findings at the Professional Standards Authority conference in November 2023.
“The most common barrier people who want to complain about government services faced was the requirement to get MP approval before bringing a complaint to us (also known as the MP filter). This was found to be time consuming, challenging and sometimes impossible.”
Lauren Manderson Research and Evaluation Manager
Improving public awareness through community outreach
We continued our regional roadshows around the country to hear directly about issues facing members of the local community and explain our role in helping them get justice when things go wrong in public services.
After the first successful roadshow in Stockton-on-Tees in March 2023, we travelled to Bristol in August 2023 and Blackpool in February 2024. We visited community centres, a college, charities (including local foodbanks) and healthcare settings and held drop-in advice clinics to listen to people’s concerns.
The information we receive from meeting local stakeholders helps us to understand local and regional barriers to complaints.
“We’re very pleased that the Ombudsman and team are proactively listening to Bristol’s diverse community organisations, to support changes that enable people to be heard. We hope that the discussions with the Ombudsman in person will help to raise awareness of how to complain and for services to encourage and act on community feedback.”
Mark Hubbard Voscur Development Director
“We are excited to welcome the Ombudsman to Blackpool. As a town, our residents sometimes face challenges and often feel disempowered to complain. We hope that this visit will be the start of an ongoing relationship where we showcase all of the amazing work that is happening to engage, advocate and empower our residents.”
Beth Martin Project Manager Healthwatch Blackpool
Improved technology for a better service
Our new Digital, Data and Technology strategy will enable us to become a leading digital ombudsman service and provide a better experience for our users.
As a first step towards delivering the strategy, we used feedback from users and improved technology to create a better user experience of the casework decision section on our website, making it more transparent and accessible. We simplified the language and improved both the search function and the way search results are displayed. This year we will be making further changes to enable us to publish the vast majority of our casework, providing a useful resource for public services, Parliamentarians, potential complainants and wider civil society to learn from previous mistakes.
In March 2024, we developed a new online complaint form making it even easier for people to bring their complaints to us.
One professional stakeholder who was involved in the testing stage said it was:
“very easy to search on. Anyone could go on there and see what there is on their Trust. I think it’s really good.”
NHS professional