Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) Paula Sussex CBE will be in East London for her first roadshow to hear from NHS staff, charities and advocacy groups about issues affecting the local community. 

PHSO looks into complaints from members of the public about the NHS in England and services provided by the UK Government and its agencies.   

Over the past year, PHSO has highlighted issues around diagnosis and care for stroke patients, mental health care and patient safety.    

On the first day of the roadshow Paula Sussex and CEO Rebecca Hilsenrath KC (Hon) met representatives from charities and public bodies including Mencap and the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss how to make public services more accessible. The group agreed services can be unnecessarily complex and prohibitive and must focus on meeting the cultural and structural needs of citizens. The discussion also highlighted opportunities for collaboration between PHSO and charities who can provide first-hand accounts of the systemic issues they see in service delivery. 

Today, Paula Sussex and Rebecca Hilsenrath will visit Barts Health NHS Trust, one of the largest NHS trusts in England, to learn more about the complaints it receives, the way it handles complaints, and how it learns from them to make positive changes. As a result of our investigations the Trust has reduced delays getting patients into surgery and improved its communication with families about Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) orders. 

They will also visit the emergency department to see how staff work on the frontline and hear from patients directly.  

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Paula Sussex CBE said:  

“Complaints should be seen as a gift. They can help provide answers and drive improvements. That’s why when something goes wrong, it’s important that citizens understand how to complain and seek redress. 

 

“It is a pleasure to see first-hand, at the Royal London Hospital, how complaints can help improve the way patients and families receive care, when managed effectively. 

 

“PHSO provides independent complaints handling, but it has an important role to play in highlighting systemic issues and uplifting public services. 

 

"It is vital that we work directly with organisations to understand where their challenges lie and how we can support them to improve public services. Seeing how things work on the ground will improve our collaborative engagement with trusts and other bodies.” 

Tristan Kerr, Director of Nursing and Governance at The Royal London Hospital, said:  

“We are proud of how we are working to quickly act on feedback, in order to improve overall experience of the hospital, and it is fantastic to be able to showcase this work to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.  

 

“Patient care is at the centre of what we do, and the smallest adjustments and changes can make a huge difference.” 

The PHSO team will also run several Complaint Champions workshops with staff from the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and local MP constituency staff. They will also hold a workshop with Newham Food Alliance, which is made up of volunteers from several charities in Newham that provide food parcels and advice. 

The workshops will help staff better support people who use their services to effectively make complaints, and seek justice when things go wrong in public services.