Annual Report 2007/08
On 5 June 2008, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales laid before the National Assembly for Wales the Annual Report for 2007/08. This is the second such report since the office came into formal existence on 1 April 2006. In presenting this Annual Report, the current Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall took the opportunity to pay tribute to his predecessor, Adam Peat (who retired in April 2008), for the way he had developed the new office of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales and for steering it successfully through its first years.
The Annual Report shows that the number of complaints made to the Ombudsman has continued to rise: 10% up on the number received during 2006/07. However, given that the number of complaints upheld during 2007/08 is little changed on the previous year, it is believed that the upward trend in complaints received is due to increased awareness of the existence of the Ombudsman among members of the public rather than any deterioration in public services.
Under earlier legislation it was not possible for the Ombudsman to publish his reports on complaints about NHS bodies. However, as a result of the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2005, he can now do so. Two health reports were issued under the new legislation during the past year. Both of these attracted considerable attention and both had at their core the fact that individual NHS bodies were trying to protect their own budgets, rather than putting the needs of the patient first.
Peter Tyndall said:
“It is unacceptable for patients to be denied access to the most appropriate treatment or equipment to which they are entitled simply because the different NHS bodies involved in the patient’s care are trying to protect their own individual budgets. Members of the public are entitled to expect that the NHS in Wales will put patients first and act to deliver an effectively co-ordinated National Health Service.”.
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