On 21 October, the President of the Republic visited the Ombudsman’s Office headquarters in Lisbon. On the occasion Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa addressed all the staff of the Ombudsman’s Office, after a brief meeting with the Ombudsman Maria Lúcia Amaral.

To watch the video of the visit made by the services of the Presidency of the Republic click here.

Responding to the Care Quality Commission's annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman  Michael King said:

“We welcome any spotlight being shone on the adult social care sector and the issues it faces.  In our own review of complaints brought to us as the Social Care Ombudsman, which we published last month, we identified a system that is increasingly failing those who need it most.

 “The faults we find are not usually one-off mistakes – they are more frequently being caused by measures taken to balance the books in a system under immense funding pressures. Our evidence shows the majority of care workers are doing an excellent job in spite of the pressures they are under. It is not the staff, but the pressure that is the problem.

 “All too often, people who use adult social care services don’t have the freedom to shop around for their care or change their circumstances once they are in the system. Without that choice, service failings have an impact on the health and wellbeing of people in care and their families.”

22 October 2021

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Rob Behrens, responds to the Care Quality Commission’s State of Care 2020/21 report:

This report provides a valuable analysis of the impact COVID-19 has had on health and social care services, while rightly recognising the resilience of the workforce.

It is clear that existing weaknesses in the health system have been exacerbated by the pandemic. I fully support the CQC’s view that government support must facilitate collaborative, joined up working across the sectors. To improve patient safety and decrease pressure on staff, we must learn from the failings of outdated, ineffective systems and processes to support new ways of working. This is a once in a generation opportunity to (...)

Augustinas Normantas, Head of the Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office, submitted a report on the human rights situation in the Utena Expert Division of the National Service of Forensic Psychiatry under the Ministry of Health, which draws attention to the existing problems. 

The Seimas Ombudsman notices that the eating skills of persons under investigation of the Utena Expert Division are not nurtured and developed, food is supplied to the wards; however, persons accommodated there lack the necessary inventory (table, chairs), therefore they are forced to eat while sitting on the bed, during meals to put dishes with food on windowsills or on cupboards, that are also lacking in multi-place wards. 

Moreover, the Seimas Ombudsman notes that not all furniture in the wards is attached to walls or floors, and most mattresses are not covered with a waterproof material that is easy to disinfect. 

The report states that persons under investigation held in the Utena Expert Division are forced to wear pajamas on a regular basis, which, in the opinion of the Seimas Ombudsman, does not contribute to the strengthening of their personality and self-esteem. In addition, both pajamas and underwear are not individualized. The Seimas Ombudsman got also concerned about the fact that clothes meeting the weather conditions and required for walks outside the building are not issued. Moreover, the necessary hygiene measures are not issued to the persons coming to the Utena Expert Division. 

The inspection revealed a significant number of breaches of privacy. It was established that the shower rooms could not be locked from the inside, and one of such rooms was located in a passage corridor with a window through which the shower room could be fully visible from the outside. The Seimas Ombudsman in his report stated that the sanitary facilities (toilets) installed in the wards also did not ensure the privacy of the persons under investigation. 

In the report, A. Normantas noted that in the 1^st Unit of the Division only one security guard officer was on duty, although according to established rules the shift should consist of the head of the security team, the guard and the station officers, and, if necessary, an assistant guard. The interviewed employees of the Utena Expert Division expressed concern about their own safety and the safety of the persons under investigation, and noted that the responsible ministries and the Police Department had been contacted several times regarding the identified problems; however, they remain unresolved. 

The Seimas Ombudsman also draws attention to the fact that the security team officers do not perform the functions assigned to them: to receive and accommodate newly arrived persons; to organize and monitor meetings of the persons held in the 1^st Unit with relatives and other persons as well as to organize and monitor visits of the media, public organizations, representatives of religious communities to the Unit; to organize walks and permits’ regime for persons held in the 1^st Unit. 

After assessing the circumstances established during the inspection, the Seimas Ombudsman came to the conclusion that appropriate material conditions for persons under investigation in the Utena Expert Division are not ensured and the dignity of the persons under investigation and their privacy are violated. 

The Seimas Ombudsman also came to the conclusion that the workload of forensic experts in the Utena Expert Division exceeded the established limits, therefore, queues for inpatient forensic psychiatric examinations ordered by the court may have formed. In addition, the staff of this Division is not provided with the opportunity to improve their professional qualifications, which also has an impact on ensuring the right to quality health care services. In addition, the Seimas Ombudsman stated that the protection of detainees is not adequately ensured in the 1^st Unit of the Utena Expert Division, which, among other things, creates preconditions for violating the rights of the investigated persons and employees of this division and endangering their health and life.

Phishing

Cette fraude s'appelle le phishing ou l’hameçonnage. Si vous en êtes la cible, vous recevez un message suspect par e-mail, SMS ou via les réseaux sociaux dans lequel les criminels tentent d'obtenir votre mot de passe, vos données bancaires ou d'autres informations personnelles en se faisant passer notamment pour un service public.

La nouvelle est souvent trop belle pour être vraie : on vous rembourse, par exemple, subitement une importante somme d’argent ou on vous envoie un colis que vous n’avez pas commandé. L’unique objectif est de vous escroquer de l'argent.

Comment reconnaître un message suspect ?

1. Consultez le site internet du service public qui aurait envoyé le message. Les services publics dont l’identité est souvent utilisée pour des tentatives de phishing publient une liste des fraudes les plus répandues. Ils vous conseillent aussi sur la manière de reconnaître un message authentique d’une tentative de phishing.

Exemples :
- le SPF Finances
- le site www.amendesroutieres.be et son article « Comment s’assurer de l’authenticité d’une amende routière ? »
- l’application Itsme pour se connecter aux services publics ou à votre banque
- l’Office national des Vacances annuelles

2. Consultez la liste des messages suspects les plus récents sur le site Safeonweb du Centre pour la Cybersécurité. Vous obtenez également des conseils pour reconnaître une tentative de phishing et vous pouvez participer à un test.  

Victime de phishing ?

1. Si vous avez cliqué sur un faux lien et que vous avez communiqué un mot de passe que vous utilisez pour d’autres sites, modifiez-le immédiatement sur tous ces sites.

2. Si vous avez communiqué vos coordonnées bancaires ou celles de votre carte de crédit, appelez immédiatement Cardstop au 070 344 344 pour bloquer votre carte. Contactez votre banque pour éventuellement bloquer le dernier paiement.

4. Si de l’argent a été retiré de votre compte, déposez plainte à la police en vous rendant au commissariat le plus proche.

5. Envoyez le message suspect à suspect@safeonweb.be et supprimez-le ensuite.

 

publié le: 21/10/2021