The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman announced today that former Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson has been appointed as Independent Adviser to a major review of the Ombudsman’s clinical advice process. The Ombudsman has also announced today the launch of a public consultation on that process.

The clinical advice review is chaired by Sir Alex Allan KCB, non-executive Board member, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and will examine how the Ombudsman commissions and uses independent clinical advice in its investigations.

Sir Alex Allan KCB said: “Sir Liam Donaldson is a global leader in public health and healthcare quality and safety. We are privileged to benefit from his extensive experience and knowledge as we undertake our clinical advice review. Sir Liam and I now welcome views and scrutiny from those who use our service and across the health sector."  

Clinical advice from health professionals frequently forms an important part of the evidence that the Ombudsman looks at to make final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. Last year, the Ombudsman commissioned independent clinical advice in around three-quarters of the 2,355 health complaints it investigated.

A commitment was made in Our strategy 2018-21: Delivering an exemplary ombudsman service to review how the Ombudsman commissions and uses clinical advice in order to ensure that it is consistent with our organisational values of independence, fairness, excellence and transparency. 

The public consultation is open from today until 15 October 2018 and accessed via the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website. The review is expected to conclude in the New Year.

Contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman press office: 

sally.brown@ombudsman.org.ukOpens email client | 0300 061 4144

Out of office hours | press@ombudsman.org.ukOpens email client | 0300 061 4444

 

El Síndic de Greuges de Cataluña ha pedido información a la Conferederación Hidrográfica del Ebro (CHE) respecto a las actuaciones que este organismo tiene previstas para evitar los efectos derivados del desprendimiento de arcilla que se ha producido en el río Garona a su paso por el Valle de Arán.

Según los medios de comunicación, en los últimos meses han tenido lugar diversos deslizamientos de tierra sobre el mencionado río que pueden conllevar graves afectaciones ecológicas.

Así, el Síndic ha pedido información a la CHE sobre los trabajos de inspección que el mencionado órgano debe llevar a cabo, dadas sus competencias, para garantizar la viabilidad del ecosistema. También ha solicitado que se le informe de los resultados de la inspección y de las medidas urgentes que adoptarán para evitar alteraciones en la reproducción de las especies de peces que habitan en las aguas afectadas: trucha y cottus gobio o carrasco espinoso, estos últimos en riesgo de extinción. Por último, ha solicitado información a las administraciones del territorio a fin de determinar qué afectaciones puede conllevar este desprendimiento; concretamente, se ha dirigido al Conselh Generau d'Aran y a diversos ayuntamientos de la zona.

Rafael Ribó, que en Arán ejerce su cargo de síndic bajo el nombre de Proòm dera Val d'Aran, ha abierto una actuación de oficio ante las informaciones aparecidas en la prensa a partir de las cuales también se ha hecho público que el Conselh Generau d'Aran se ha puesto en contacto con la CHE y le ha solicitado una intervención urgente.

 

amás Kádár, Head of our Policy and Legal Team, outlines the importance of equality bodies for the September 2018 edition of the International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, looking at their development and potential, as well as the opportunities and challenges they face.

Abstract

The Treaty of Amsterdam and the subsequent adoption in 2000 of the so-called Race Directive was a genuine paradigm shift in European equal treatment legislation and practice. One of the major developments resulting from this Treaty change and new Directive was the introduction of a requirement for all EU Member States to set up bodies for the promotion of equal treatment, first on the ground of race and ethnic origin, later extended to the ground of gender.

This article analyses the emergence of these bodies – equality bodies – in EU Member States and candidate countries and the role they play in promoting equality and the implementation and monitoring of EU equal treatment legislation. It argues that equality bodies have a significant potential to contribute to more equal societies and they have proven to be effective agents of change. They do so, among others, by contributing to relevant case law in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union leading to the further development and clarification of EU and national equal treatment legislation.

The article also looks at the challenges experienced by equality bodies in different European countries as factors that influence and might limit their potential and contribution. To conclude, the article examines the necessary conditions for equality bodies to effectively contribute to the implementation of EU legislation and the achievement of substantive equality and it assesses whether current standards for equality bodies can guarantee these conditions.

Tamás Kádár, Equality bodies – A European phenomenon, International Journal of Discrimination and the Law (Online First ahead of print) Copyright © [2018] (Tamás Kádár). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.

 

“Equality is a fundamental value of the EU, and the European Network of Equality Bodies is a fundamental part of defending our values against attack and our citizens against discrimination"- Frans Timmermans

Für 1,3 Mio. Menschen mit Behinderungen (15 % der österr. Bevölkerung) bleibt der Weg zu Selbstbestimmung und Inklusion ein weiter, wie das Beschwerdeaufkommen bei Volksanwaltschaft und Behindertenanwalt zeigt: „Wir sind mit der Entwicklung nicht zufrieden“, sagt Volksanwältin Gertrude Brinek, „Wirklich barrierefrei sind nach wie vor noch viele Bauten in Österreich nicht. Denn das würde bedeuten, dass...