Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) Rob Behrens is in Bristol on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 August for the second in a series of regional roadshows to speak to members of the local community about the issues they face when using public services.
PHSO looks into complaints from members of the public who are not satisfied with the service they have received from the NHS in England or the UK Government and its agencies.
The Ombudsman deals with a variety of complaints from welfare payments, visa issues and problems with support for British citizens abroad, to failings within the NHS such as delayed diagnoses and incorrect treatment.
He recently published a report into serious harms in the NHS, which looked at issues of patient safety and preventable deaths. Cases that were only brought to light thanks to people raising their complaints with PHSO.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Rob Behrens said:
“I believe in the power of complaining. A well-handled complaint has the power to reveal the truth, bring closure and create lasting positive change. When things go wrong in public services people should feel empowered to speak up about their experiences so the NHS, the Government and its agencies are held to account and standards improve.
“But not everyone feels comfortable complaining or knows who to turn to for help. That’s one of the reasons why the PHSO team is in Bristol. As well as listening to members of the community about the issues they’re facing, we’re here to provide support and advice so they know how we can help to put things right.
“We want to encourage people who have had a bad experience to make a complaint. By sharing their story they can help improve public services for everyone and stop mistakes from happening again.”
While in Bristol, the Ombudsman and PHSO’s Chief Executive, Rebecca Hilsenrath, will visit different sectors of the local community to meet people and explain our role in helping them get justice when things go wrong in public services.
PHSO will hold a free advice clinic for members of the public on Thursday 17 August at the Wellspring Settlement. PHSO caseworkers will be on hand to help anyone who has had issues when using a public service or the NHS and talk through the process for complaints and the options available to them.
The Ombudsman and CEO will visit several community organisations including North West Bristol Foodbank, and local charity 1625 Independent People which works with young people who are homeless, leaving care or at risk of homelessness.
They will also meet with community leaders, local MPs and the immigration and welfare benefits team at Bristol Law Centre, to find out about the issues they are seeing.
The visit has been organised in conjunction with local organisation Voscur, who support the local voluntary, community and enterprise sector.
Mark Hubbard, Voscur Development Director said:
“Voscur is delighted to be welcoming the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and team to Bristol. We’re introducing them to community organisations that support people who often say they feel ignored and experience problems with accessing public services. 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.”