A telescope Our vision We deliver fair and impartial justice for individuals and drive improvements in public services for everyone

An arrow hits a bullseye Our aims Impact To drive meaningful improvements and system-level changes in public services

A person with a tick box Our aims User experience To provide an accessible, timely and person-centred complaints process

A megaphone Our aims Awareness To be a recognised and influential voice in improving public services

We’ve launched our new Strategy for 2026 to 2031.

Our focus: fair and impartial justice for individuals and real, lasting improvements across public services.

Read more: ombudsman.org.uk/strategy

Tips for making a complaint: - complain as soon as you can - decide what you hope to achieve - make your complaint clear - ask for help - keep to the point

Want to make a complaint about the NHS in England? Here are some tips on what to do before you bring your complaint to us:

- Decide what you hope to achieve
- Make your complaint clear
- Complain as soon as possible

Visit our website for more info: orlo.uk/xIByu

“I am so grateful for your kindness, understanding, and your whole approach to me. Whatever the outcome I am very appreciated for you even listening.”

We believe complaints have the power to reveal the truth, create lasting change and inspire a better relationship between people and public services.

It's great to hear positive feedback from people we've helped. Here's what one person who brought their complaint to us had to say.

Getting it right first time: Making lawful decisions - Public Law Project Four webinars on 4, 6, 11, 13 November, guiding decision makers on acting within the law. Presented with LAG and 39 Essex Chambers.

🔷Abigail Hamer - Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
🔷Rebecca Hilsenrath KC (Hon) - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (@phsombudsman.bsky.social)
🔷Sophie Earnshaw (@sophieearnshaw.bsky.social) -
@sheltercharity.bsky.social

Book now⬇️
hi.switchy.io/to6H

We demoed our AI-powered thematic dashboards to MPs and stakeholders in Manchester this week — exploring trends in NHS and government complaints and the potential for coordinated work on constituency issues.

A graphic with a message about healthcare. The top text reads, "Unsafe care in hospitals costs lives." The bottom text says, "Those of us living with mental illness deserve better." The background features shades of purple.

⚠️ Too often, people are not being kept safe in mental health hospitals. This can’t go on.

Our new campaign is calling for safer care in mental health settings. If you agree, add your name today 👉 https://bit.ly/485YEwp

Together, we can demand change that is desperately needed.

Hospital staff at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust used a teenage boy to tell his deaf mother that her father might die that day, an investigation by the @phsombudsman.bsky.social has found.

healthcaretoday.com/article/birm...

#Healthcare #PublicHealth #NHS #PatientSafety

PHSO: Prioritising patient safety (Winter 2026)

Added to the hub, the latest blog in the 'Prioritising patient safety' series from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (@phsombudsman.bsky.social). www.pslhub.org/learn/invest... #patientsafety

In our new Prioritising #PatientSafety blog from Dr Tony Dysart, we explore:

- two cases involving patients with disabilities and the improvements one Trust has made
- key themes emerging from our casework
- the latest patient safety news

Read more: orlo.uk/ZiK5B

Yesterday we hosted a drop-in session for MPs and their offices in Portcullis House. We discussed the role of the Ombudsman, the complaints process and how we help improve public services for their constituents.

Waiting room

Following our investigation into the death of a 67-year-old woman, we've asked Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust to review its cancer wait times.

The Trust has now committed to an action plan to reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment.

orlo.uk/nhIrS

Ombudsman comments on the Mental Health Act receiving Royal Assent | Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) The Mental Health Act ha

"Patients and staff have been calling for a twenty-first-century Mental Health Act that supports both those receiving and those delivering modern mental health care."

Ombudsman Paula Sussex comments on the Mental Health Act receiving Royal Assent.

www.ombudsman.org.uk/news-and-blo...

‘Too thin for help’: Eating disorder patients turned away based on their BMI Shocking report highlights how some patients are waiting up to two years to get specialist help

“The Government [must] turn plans into concrete action if it wants to avoid further tragedies.”

Ombudsman Paula Sussex responds to a new eating disorders report which found some patients are waiting years for treatment.

Read more in @the-independent.com: www.the-independent.com/news/health/...

Doctors did not tell Syd, a father of seven, that he had a terminal illness.

We found they wrongly reassured him that he would be okay. He died eight months after he later learned about his condition.

Read more: orlo.uk/3yNqf

Ombudsman on a mission: Interview with Paula Sussex Paula Sussex is the new ombudsman responsible for looking into complaints from the public about services provided by the UK government and the NHS ...

"‘Complaint’ is not always seen as a positive word, but it's the voice of the user, which is so important to have in your ear.”

Ombudsman Paula Sussex spoke to Civil Service World about her new role, priorities and the power of complaints.

Read more: orlo.uk/0K3wF

"This is an opportunity to embed candour, openness & honesty at the heart of public service."

In her new blog, Ombudsman Paula Sussex welcomes today's #HillsboroughLaw debate and shares how it could change how public bodies respond when things go wrong.

orlo.uk/5pSEx

Have your say on our new strategy!

Your experiences and feedback can help shape our future priorities.

Visit our website before 20 October to complete the survey: orlo.uk/yq27y

Our annual complaint data for 2024 to 2025 is much easier to explore.

🔍 You can now search and filter by organisation to see how many complaints we received and the decisions made at each stage.

View the data on our website: orlo.uk/Bt7C5

Windrush officials must improve after neglecting dying woman’s claim, says ombudsman Scheme ordered to pay £25,000 to Caroline Tobierre’s family who were ‘consumed’ by battle for compensation at end of her life The Windrush compensation scheme must improve after it failed to consider a dying woman’s claim properly and wrongly refused to compensate her husband for the loss of his pension, an ombudsman has said. Caroline Tobierre’s last days were “overshadowed” by an “exhausting” compensation battle. The WCS has now been ordered by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to pay £25,000 to her widower, Thomas Tobierre, 71, and daughter Charlotte Tobierre, 40. Continue reading...

Windrush officials must improve after neglecting dying woman’s claim, says ombudsman

We're calling for improvements to the #Windrush Compensation Scheme after it failed to provide Thomas and his family proper compensation.

It comes a year after our report spotlighting the stories of people who were wrongly denied payment.

Read more: orlo.uk/ZYZp3%E2%80%A6

"Recognition that a newborn is becoming unwell and really listening to mothers and families when they have concerns."

In our podcast for #WPSD, Director of MNSI Sandy Lewis shares the biggest #PatientSafety challenges in NHS care for newborns.

Listen: orlo.uk/Q6Alu

PHSO: Prioritising patient safety (Summer 2025) This blog explores how findings from PHSO casework can help colleagues across the NHS harness the power of complaints.

Added to the hub this week, the latest blog in the quarterly 'Prioritising patient safety' series from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (@phsombudsman.bsky.social). www.pslhub.org/learn/invest... #patientsafety

Charity Commission fails to comply with Ombudsman’s findings

We found failings in the way the Charity Commission handled safeguarding concerns related to sexual abuse and recommended it apologise and provide compensation.

Now, we're calling on Parliament to hold the Commission to account.

Read more: www.ombudsman.org.uk/news-and-blo...

In our new Prioritising #PatientSafety blog, we explore:

- how we worked with an NHS Trust to bring about improvements in culture
- how an NHS Trust improved its service following a complaint about sickle cell treatment
- the latest patient safety news.

www.ombudsman.org.uk/news-and-blo...

Don't forget to sign-up for email updates, quarterly newsletters and our Prioritising Patient Safety blog.

Get our latest casework decisions, publications, blogs, podcasts and more delivered straight to your inbox.

For more info and to subscribe visit: orlo.uk/07OtN

A sun rises over mountains. In the middle of the sun it says 'Make complaints count'

A well-handled complaint has the power to reveal the truth, bring closure and create lasting positive change.

Share how the Complaint Standards have helped improve complaint handling at your organisation.

Join our campaign to #MakeComplaintsCount: orlo.uk/KRDi5

How we can help you | Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman YouTube video by Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

🎬 Our new animation explains how we can help when you bring a complaint to us about UK government departments, other public organisations and the NHS in England.

Watch now to find out more: www.youtube.com/watch?utm_so...

In our latest podcast episodes we discuss the Complaint Standards and explore:

- the value of complaints and feedback
- how the Standards make a difference to complaint handling
- how the Standards can evolve and what's next.

🎧 Listen: orlo.uk/khqRB

Quote from CEO Rebecca Hilsenrath: "I welcome the importance placed on managing and learning from complaints and on building on our NHS Complaint Standards."

"I welcome the importance placed on managing and learning from complaints and on building on our NHS Complaint Standards."

Our CEO Rebecca Hilsenrath comments on Dr Penny Dash's review of patient safety across the health & care landscape published today: orlo.uk/WtSvH

"It is positive to see a commitment to reform the NHS complaints system. We are ready to work with Government to achieve this, building on our NHS Complaint Standards."

Our CEO Rebecca Hilsenrath comments on the new 10 Year Health Plan: ombudsman.org.uk/news-and-blo...