Ombudsman Ger Deering spoke at the Irish Patients Association Conference last week, welcoming the improvements that have been made by the HSE in the administration of the Treatment Abroad scheme following his “In Sickness and in Debt” report earlier this year. Responding to queries from journalists, he said that he “has continued to liaise with the HSE since the report was published last April and has welcomed the progress being made by the HSE in implementing its recommendations.“ Media coverage of the event can be found in the Irish Examiner and the Irish Times.

Everyone benefits from sharing learning - patients, staff, the organisation, and the public - and those benefits are powerful. Improved efficiency, increased employee satisfaction, more innovation, better services for patients and achievement of objectives.

The challenge is to promote a learning from concerns ethos so that you can reap the benefits. Concerns about confidentiality shouldn’t be a barrier to sharing learning.

Shift the focus when thinking about sharing learning

When a whistleblowing concern is raised and during an investigation, the focus is on minimising the amount of people who know about the concern and protecting the identity of the whistleblower. However, when the investigation is over, its time to shift the focus. The identify of the whistleblower and crucially everybody involved in the concern still needs to be protected, but the new focus is on sharing the learning as widely as possible. The whistleblower and the specific details of their concern are no longer the focus.

Involve other people in your learning

Once you’ve figured out what learning you’ll focus on, you should think about who should be involved. It’s up to you to involve who you think is best. But you may want to think about involving the whistleblower, witnesses, and staff responsible for overseeing the learning and improvements. NHS Boards are encouraged to use action plans to record and monitor improvements and provide a basis against which to report progress and share learning.

What information to share

While it is helpful to provide as much information as possible, this should not be at the expense of confidentiality. Think about the audience. When you are sharing with a wider audience, there may be no need to provide information about a specific department, hospital, staff roles or the medical specialism, dates should be redacted as should reference numbers. Provide information which celebrates the learning and improvements, tell people about how risk has been reduced or that a new process has resulted in positive patient experiences.

Address barriers

If confidentiality is perceived to be a barrier to sharing learning, address this by exploring this topic within your organisation, adjust the level of detail shared and put systems in place to support.

Ways to share

Make learning from concerns a priority. Create opportunities to share learning from concerns, be creative. Consider events like lunch and learns with senior leaders, after action plan reviews, and don’t forget about the annual speak up week.

Take away

Sharing learning whilst maintain confidentiality is achievable and will bring powerful benefits to your organisation.

Public awareness of the Ombudsman’s Office has surged from 70% in 2015 to nearly 91% in 2023.

The Hon. Anglu Farrugia, Speaker of the House of Representatives, tabled the Ombudsplan 2024 in Parliament yesterday. This marks the first Ombudsplan of Judge Emeritus Joseph Zammit McKeon as Parliamentary Ombudsman. In the document the Office of the Ombudsman published important findings from a survey that was commissioned by the Office itself to assess public understanding and perspectives.

Furthermore, the Ombudsman shares insights on various aspects of his constitutional role.

In the Ombudsplan 2024, the Parliamentary Ombudsman stated that “In the current year and for the four years to come, it shall be an obligation on our part as an Office of Parliament to address the concerns of all persons who seek redress and, if entitled, to give them fair remedies, through motivated recommendations addressed to the public administration.

In order to do so, the Office must be brave, objective, factual, upright, and with no agenda other than what is fair because when a person who has a right is convinced that the credentials of the Office are proper and credible, then that person will choose to bring forward his grievances to the Office rather than go elsewhere.”

The Ombudsplan 2024 will be subsequently considered and debated in a special session of the House Business Committee. The document can be downloaded from here.

Documents:

Ombudsplan 2024

Executive Summary

Tanti sono gli attestati di sostegno ricevuti in seguito all’organizzazione della Conferenza Internazionale degli Ombudsman, tenutasi a Roma il 21 e 22 settembre 2023.

L’evento, che ha visto la presenza di rappresentanti degli Ombudsman di tutto il mondo, è stato un momento di scambio di conoscenze e buone pratiche nel campo della difesa dei diritti dei cittadini. La conferenza ha fornito un’opportunità unica per discutere le sfide comuni che gli Ombudsman affrontano nella promozione della giustizia e dell’equità.

L’organizzazione ha lavorato duramente per garantire il successo dell’evento e l’alto numero di partecipanti, le discussioni approfondite e la condivisione di esperienze preziose hanno contribuito a rendere la Conferenza un momento fondamentale per la comunità degli Ombudsman.

“Dopo la conclusione della Conferenza Internazionale degli Ombudsman – commenta il Presidente Marino Fardelli – abbiamo ricevuto numerosi messaggi di congratulazioni e apprezzamento da parte di colleghi, partner e cittadini interessati. Questi messaggi testimoniano il riconoscimento dell’importanza del lavoro svolto dalla nostra istituzione nel promuovere la tutela dei diritti dei cittadini non solo a livello regionale, ma anche a livello internazionale”.

“Vogliamo condividere questa gioia con tutti coloro che hanno contribuito al successo della conferenza e con le comunità che abbiamo il privilegio di servire. Continueremo a impegnarci a fondo per promuovere e difendere i diritti dei cittadini e per collaborare con i nostri colleghi degli Ombudsman in tutto il mondo” hanno dichiarato all’unisono i Vice Presidenti nazionali Marcello Pecorari e Antonia Fiordelisi.

Die Bevölkerung vertraut am stärksten in Volksanwaltschaft, Polizei, Arbeiterkammer und Bundesheer. Das zeigt der aktuelle APA/OGM-Vertrauensindex. „Wir bedanken uns bei den Menschen in Österreich für ihr großes Vertrauen und werden auch weiterhin alles tun, um diesem gerecht zu werden“, sagt Bernhard Achitz, derzeit Vorsitzender der Volksanwaltschaft. Im Vorjahr haben sich fast 24.000 Menschen an die Volksanwaltschaft gewandt.

„Die Fälle, die an uns als Volksanwaltschaft herangetragen werden, sind unglaublich vielfältig“, sagt Volksanwalt Walter Rosenkranz: „Das Spektrum reicht von Beschwerden über Polizeistrafen, über fehlende Akteneinsicht in einen baupolizeilichen Akt bis hin zur falschen Pflegegeld-Einstufung." Gesetzlich nicht möglich ist es der Volksanwaltschaft, Gerichtsurteile zu prüfen oder in private Rechtsstreitigkeiten, etwa mit Nachbarn oder Unternehmen, einzugreifen.

Wer sich von einer Behörde ungerecht behandelt fühlt, kann sich an die Volksanwaltschaft wenden. „Wir schauen uns die Vorwürfe genau an und prüfen sorgfältig. In vielen Fällen können wir den Betroffenen helfen und eine Lösung erreichen“, sagt Volksanwältin Gaby Schwarz. Sie möchte vor allem Frauen ermutigen, die Hilfe der Volksanwaltschaft in Anspruch zu nehmen: „Wir wollen, dass sich auch die Frauen ohne zu zögern an uns wenden und um Unterstützung bitten, wenn sie sich von einer Behörde ungerecht behandelt fühlen."

So funktioniert der Vertrauensindex

Der Vertrauensindex funktioniert so, dass (in diesem Fall bei 1.028 Personen) abgefragt wird, ob man einer Institution vertraut oder nicht. Der Saldo daraus ergibt bei der Volksanwaltschaft einen Wert von plus 58 und bei der Polizei von plus 56. Dahinter folgt im Vertrauensranking die Arbeiterkammer (54). Auf den Plätzen vier bis zehn folgen das Bundesheer (51), der Verfassungsgerichtshof (40), die Universitäten (39), der Rechnungshof (36), die Schulen (31), die Finanzämter und die Krankenkassen (beide 29).