Events

Information about events organised by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Help improve our service: join us at our dilemma café

We're inviting members of the public and advocacy professionals to join us face-to-face at our Dilemma Cafés in March. We'll ask you to share your unique perspectives and views to help improve our work and make lasting improvements to public services.

Find out more

MP drop-in event:  meet the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman held a drop-in event in Parliament for MPs and their staff on 19 April, with support from the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).

Find out more

 


How can ombuds schemes be reformed?

The Institute for Government hosted an event to explore whether a new Public Services Ombudsman should be introduced on 6 March 2023 at Carlton Gardens. The event examined potential next steps for ombuds reform and included an expert roundtable featuring Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Rob Behrens, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Rosemary Agnew and Former CEO of the Hearing Aid Council Sandra Verkuyten OBE.

Find out more


The art of an effective Ombudsman: access to justice, accountability and improving public services

We hosted our event, The art of an effective Ombudsman, on 23 May 2022 at Church House, Westminster. We discussed our new corporate strategy and were joined by organisations with an interest in access to justice, public service accountability and the role of a modern Ombudsman.

Find out more


Working seminar on the Manchester Memorandum 2021

Our Manchester Memorandum working seminar, held in partnership with the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) on the development of national Ombudsman institutions took place on 9-10 November 2021. Click below to read a blog summarising the event.

Find out more


Complaint Standards Framework webinar

Our live webinar held on 10 September 2020 explored the new Complaint Standards Framework and the positive impact it will have on the NHS complaints process. Click below to find out more and watch a recording or read a transcript of the webinar.

Find out more


Ombudsman's Public Lecture 2020

We're holding our 2020 Ombudsman’s Public Lecture at 6.30pm on 5 May in Manchester. This year our lecture will focus on improving patient safety and using evidence and insight to prevent suicide in mental health care.

Guest speaker Professor Louis Appleby will share insights into how health care services can be made safer for people at risk of suicide.

Find out more


Annual Open Meeting 2019

We held our third annual Open Meeting on Wednesday 2 October 2019 at the Pendulum Hotel in Manchester.

Ombudsman Rob Behrens welcomed complainants, complaint handlers, members of the public and other stakeholders to hear from guest speakers. Participants also had the chance to take part in a Q&A and panel discussion.

Find out more


Ombudsman's Public Lecture 2018

Our 2018 Ombudsman lecture took place at the London School of Economics on Thursday 13 December.

The lecture 'Avoiding the Avoidable: Comparative Approaches to Patient Safety' was delivered by Sir Liam Donaldson, former Chief Medical Officer and patient safety expert.

Sir Liam presented the latest international thinking on approaches to patient safety and the challenges and opportunities this presents for health care leaders. Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Rob Behrens then talked about the Ombudsman's role in working with others to improve patient safety. This was followed by a lively Q&A session with a diverse and engaged audience.

Listen to the Radio Ombudsman podcast of the lecture below:

Read Rob Behren's blog


Annual Open Meeting 2018

On 22 May 2018, we hosted our second annual open meeting in London.

Ombudsman Rob Behrens shared our new three year strategy and spoke of returning to the core values of an ombudsman service.

Guest speakers included: government complaints champion and HMRC Customs Director General Customer Services, Angela MacDonald and James Titcombe, father of Joshua Titcombe.

After a lively Q&A session, breakout sessions featured discussions on innovation and good practice in complaint handling and alternative dispute resolution.

Find out more


Annual Open Meeting 2017

Over 100 people joined us for our first open meeting in November 2017 in Manchester. Participants included complainants, complaint handlers and representatives of national bodies.   

Rob Behrens shared his vision for developing a modern Ombudsman service, Scott Morrish spoke powerfully about his experience of making a complaint about the NHS, and Dr Bill Kirkup shared his experience as an independent investigator.

There were also breakout sessions for complainants, complaint handlers and regulators.

Find out more