14/08/2024
I would appreciate statistics on the outcome of patient complaints handled by your organisation. Specifically, what percentage of complaints have been upheld?
Please may I have the numbers of complaints you have received each year for the past 3 years about the CQC only. May I also have a list of possible outcomes to a CQC complaint? And the outcome numbers of those complaints of the past three years to each possible outcome.
13/08/2024
I would like to make a FOI request for Hospital and GP complaints please. I would like to know: 1. How many Hospital complaints you have received since 1st January 2020 to 31st July 2024 2. How many of these complaints have been upheld 3. How many GP complaints you have received since 1st January 2020 to 31st July 2024 4. How many of these complaints have been upheld
I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would like to request a copy of all active templates for letters and emails used by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). This request should include, but is not limited to, templates used by PHSO caseworkers when they uphold complaints made by members of the public against authorities or in other relevant situations. Although these templates are going to be used for investigative purposes, due to the fact that these templates do not pertain to any investigation carried out, they are not protected under the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 or the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993. Please note, we are not asking for personal information. Should any personal information be contained in these templates, it may be redacted so that Section 40 does not apply. Additionally, we are not requesting the creation of new information. Should any of this information be exempt from release, we are entitled to be clearly notified of the citations of exemption being used with a brief overview of the perceived justification for its use in this instance. If you cite Section 12 (Exceeds cost limit), we are entitled to a clear justification of why the request exceeds the cost limit, including a reasonable breakdown of how the cost has been calculated. In this scenario, under Section 16, we are entitled to advice and assistance on how to narrow the request so that it falls under the cost limit. To support this request, we provide the following justifications: 1. These templates are standard communications tools and do not contain sensitive operational information. 2. Disclosure supports transparency and public trust, outweighing potential harm. 3. The templates requested are for public service communications, not commercial enterprises. 4. Ensuring transparency in public service practices promotes public trust and accountability. Please provide the information in electronic format. If there are any issues with fulfilling this request, please inform me of any necessary clarifications or modifications that could help in processing my request.
09/08/2024
Please can you ask the Parliamentary Ombudsman what is the criteria being used not to review a case. Eg only where someone has died for example? If they are so constrained it must mean many cases of maladministration in the NHS is going unanswered. Can you find out who funds the Parliamentary Ombudsman for the NHS and ask why they are not sufficiently funded.
05/08/2024
PHSO Access to CUSTOMER ENQUIRIES - CALL BLOCKING As I understand it, uninhibited access to PHSO Customer Services is a right to citizens in the pursuance of complaint dissatisfaction with all Government (taxpayer) Services, either for enquiry or action on complaints against any Government Service. Please correct my understanding if it affects responses to this request. I wish to enquire of PHSO Policy and practical execution in the matters of call-blocking. In the context of my questions, I use the word Customer to mean any PHSO current customer or ex-customer or potential service-user or ex-service-user. PHSO Policy: • What is PHSO Policy on incoming call blocking? With the PHSO call-blocking process: • What is the PHSO’s written instruction to staff in this? including... • The steps that operate in call-blocking as an end-to-end process? • What PHSO Ofice ultimately decides who will be blocked - i.e. what authority sanctions it? As of this month: • How many phone numbers are currently blocked including identified UK ‘scam’ calls? • How many of these are identified UK ‘scam’ call numbers? With the blocked Customers: • How are they informed they may be blocked? • What warnings are they given before being advised of potential blocking? • Are they informed of the reason for being blocked? • Are they given opportunity to respond in their defence? • Are they informed of potential block duration? • Are they informed of potential block appeal or ‘review’ time? • Are blocked Customers advised how to contact PHSO e.g. for appeal or review? With the PHSO: • What is the PHSO blocking appeal or review process? • What is the typical blocking expiry (block-lifting) duration? • Is there an automatic process for the above and removal of blocking? Recording and Documentation: • What records of Whom, Why and When, a customer is blocked and e.g. ‘tagged’ when a review is due? • Are those records associated with / filed with / attached to casework, OR... • Are those records filed under (e.g.) ‘Blocked calls’ for PHSO admin / monitoring duties? • Is the customer able to request copy of their ‘personal information’ in these matters? • Is a reasoned account on call-blocking included in PHSO Annual Report for scrutiny?
Please could you let me know the complaint structure in the NHS? If someone wants to complain about the senior management at a NHS hospital to the NHS, what is the procedure? (apart from the internal PALS office). The CEO of the NHS hospital is a qualified medical doctor. Who appoints the CEO of a NHS hospital? Who is responsible for the behaviour of the CEO of a NHS hospital? Which government body is responsible? (The Prime Minister? The health Secretary? NHS England? Your local MP?)
02/08/2024
Following the media coverage today, 26th July 2024 that the Care Quality Commission is not fit for purpose (Wes Streeting, Health Secretary), I wish to make a Freedom of Information Request concerning my complaint handler. • How many years has she had in her role, post probation training? • What training did she undertake to make her suitable and competent for handling neurosurgical cases? • What refresher training has she undertaken? • What is her experience in handling complex neurosurgical cases? • What mental health training has she undertaken to enable her to recognise when a neurosurgical case complaint involves a brain injury such as Complex PTSD? • Has she ever communicated with neurosurgical clinical staff in an actual neurosurgical hospital department, face-to-face or by phone? Has she done this on her own? • Has she ever visited a hospital in real life?
29/07/2024
Please provide under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the process for making a complaint against Ofgem for failure to regulate for breaches of Standard Licence Conditions for Energy Supply when they are the specific agency created for the purpose of enforcement.
25/07/2024
This FOI request asks for information relating to service improvement recommendations issued by the PHSO (as opposed to personal remedy recommendations). I am interested in the number of such recommendations issued by the PHSO, the breakdown between health and parliamentary complaints, the recommendations made to specific public bodies, the nature of such recommendations and the outcomes. I do not know whether or not the PHSO collects any or all of this information, so I can only request it. Furthermore, I appreciate that considering this request may be somewhat onerous, but I would suggest that there is value in sharing this information in order to understand service improvement recommendations and how public bodies respond to them. I also appreciate that statistical data alone needs to be understood in a wider context and that there may be a number of caveats in seeking to interpret and understand such information, which I would, if possible, be interested in learning about. Could I please kindly request the following information: 1. The number of service improvement recommendations issued by the PHSO to public bodies per year; 2. could you please provide this information for each year that such information has been collected; 3. could you please provide the breakdown between the PHSO's health and parliamentary jurisdictions; 4. could you please provide the number of service improvement recommendations issued to specific public bodies concerned eg government departments and NHS bodies; 5. could you please provide any information concerning the generic types or categories of such service improvement recommendations, eg that a NHS trust devise an action plan (if such data is collected); 6. could you also please provide the number of such recommendations which are accepted or actioned by the relevant public body (if such data is collected).
23/07/2024
I would like a copy of any decisions/complaints logged with the PHSO in relation to NHS Sussex or NHS Sussex ICB whether these have been recorded on the PHSO web site or NOT along with the reference number
22/07/2024
Taking 2019/20 for example you state that the Ombudsman received 5,623 cases but with 0 complaints resolved by meditation, 1,253 decided following primary investigation and 50 resolved with agreement of the complaint at the initial check ,4,320 are not clearly analysed. Can you please explain what happened to the 4,320 cases? Can you explain what is included in the 1,253 cases i.e. all rejected? You then include a second section entitled decided following detailed investigation which numbers 78. This would indicate that you only carry out detailed investigations on 1.4% cases submitted to you in 2019/20. Given the level of work before cases are submitted to the Ombudsman, is it correct that 98.6% of submissions are not subject to detailed investigation? The 78 is broken down into upheld (13), partly upheld (36), not upheld (28) and otherwise resolved (1). This section is confused by the addition of 18 discontinued investigations which would increase the total to 96 cases. The final % analysis is in relation to 96 cases. I note that of 5,623 cases submitted to the Ombudsman financial compensation was limited to 3 cases at little more than a notional amount. Can you please provide information on the cost of the Ombudsman Service since 2019/20.
Did any PHSO staff member at any time report to any other PHSO staff member the fact that I had made allegations of maladministration against Ms Hilsenrath as part of my 2 or 3 November 2020 complaint? On or about 9 November 2020 it was given the reference number ( redacted ) The main reference number, as of 21 June 2022, was ( Redacted ) It was allocated to ( Redacted) (Redacted) on or about 2 July 2021 and she issued her adjudication on 26 July 2022. This question potentially involves Rob Behrens, Rebecca Hilsenrath, ( Redacted ) but I suggest you also check whether anyone else in the Intake Team or in the Ombudsman Assurance Team took this action. If it is the case that one or more individuals did report this fact to another staff member, I would like to know to whom the report was made, when it was made and by what means it was done. I would also like to be provided with copies of any relevant emails, telephone attendance notes, manuscript notes and/or any other material evidencing a relevant communication and, if applicable, any reply that was received. Finally I would like to see any working notes made on the paper files, whether in the form of manuscript notes on other documents or in the form of primary "notes to self" by any of the staff mentioned above, mentioning or referring to Ms Hilsenrath and/or the roles of Director of Strategy and Communications and/or CEO.
11/07/2024
1. What exactly does the PHSO do, and what is it meant to achieve? 2. Is there a body directly responsible for the operation of the PHSO and to whom the PHSO are accountable to? 3. If new conclusive evidence presented itself subsequent to any final decision by the PHSO regarding a complaint, is there any way in which matters could then proceed further, and if so what would that entail? 4. Is there any way an organisation such as an NHS trust can be compelled to answer legitimate questions asked of them, in particular where their actions have not been in the interests of a person in their care? If you cannot answer this, is it possible for you to point me in the right direction to somewhere I could find this out without a requirement for legal assistance?
09/07/2024
I put in a F of I request for the number of dentists,hours worked and number of patients in the Pembrokeshire area back in 2022.This was supplied by the Health Board and i placed the information on a private Facebook site (January 2023)looking to improve access to Doctors/Dentists in the Pembrokeshire area.I Have just been informed by Facebook that my posting contains sensitive information and has been deleted. On looking back at the response to my F of I request i note in the small print there is a statement that this information should not be shared with anyone.Surely this goes against the spirit of the F of I Act which is to encourage information getting into the public domain.I could get all 175 members to send in the same request so we all get the information but this seems a waste of time for us and the Health Board.Could you confirm that placing a non disclosure on a Freedom of Information request is standard and is acceptable to the Ombudsman.
What is the email address of whoever deals with complaints about the National Health Service in Scotland? I cannot use telephones due to being deaf so I need their email address.
08/07/2024
Therefore I am interested to know of the PHSO's actual approach here even maybe despite of the formal law that I am told about currently on its website. Namely about its inability to receive legally valid complaints at the moment because there are no MPs.
05/07/2024
Can you please advise whether there is an appeal process to the outcome? ? Also if you can tell me whether I am at liberty to pursue civil proceedings now that I have, in my view, unsatisfactorily pursued your process?
Please supply the following information for your Agency ONLY, (do not including any data on other agencies or public bodies that may report to you) for the period of 2023: 1. Year of Creation/Launch/Establishment? 2. Your Annual Budget for the financial year of 2022/23? 3. Other Revenue received but not from government? 4. Fiscal Powers: Yes/No 5. Regulatory Powers: Yes/No 6. Do you sponsor other Public Bodies: Yes/No, if yes who? 7. Number of permanent staff? 8. Number of temporary staff (including part timers)? 9. Number of contract staff employed, (self-employed)? Points of clarification: • Question 4: The power to raise revenue from your clients/customer • Question 5: Have the power to regulate your market/sector • Questions 7,8 & 9 that is number employed during the financial year of 2022/23 • Question 7: Permanent and Fixed term employees" (including both full and part time staff) • Question 8: Temporary and contract staff" (contractors and agency temps) • Question 9: Secondments" (non pay-roll staff on secondment from other organisations)