In this month’s edition of the Ombudsman’s findings, we highlight the importance of early resolution.
This month we published decision reports from 14 complaints investigated by the Ombudsman. Eleven of these were about health services, one about a housing association and two about local government. The outcome of these 14 complaints were
- Fully upheld: 8
- Some upheld: 2
- Not upheld: 2
- Resolved: 2
This month we closed 2 two cases as resolved. These are examples of cases where outcomes can be achieved for the complainant without the need for a long or detailed investigation. We actively seek opportunities to resolve complaints as it improves customer experience by providing redress more quickly and helps to rebuild relationships with public bodies. Check out our good practice guidance on alternative complaint resolution approaches for examples of when an investigation may not always be the best option. We encourage you to reflect on these examples and the good practice guidance; do they resonate with complaints you have handled at stage 1 or stage 2.
Recommendations and feedback
We made 38 recommendations to public bodies. Ten of these were individual remedies. These are actions we ask public bodies to take which will directly impact the complainant. These are often apologies but this month included a recommendation for financial redress. Our Redress Policy sets out our approach to resolving a complaint or request through recommendations for redress.
We also made a further 23 recommendations for learning and improvement and five relating to complaints handling.
All our published decision reports can be read in full on our website.