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Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2003

Chapter 4 - Service to Our Clients

Service to Our Clients

Case Screening
The new case screening procedures which were first introduced in 2001 were refined in a number of ways in 2003 and the procedures are now well embedded. They give an added focus to the initial assessment of new complaints so that it is clear which issues need to be pursued with the public body. In addition, they help to clarify if there are aspects of the complaint which may be outside remit. The procedures also enable managers to give detailed guidance to case-workers on how to approach the case at the outset.

Quality Casework
Throughout 2003 a number of Office working groups sampled individual complaint files by reference to a set of agreed quality standards and indicators and reports of their findings were submitted to the Management Advisory Committee on a bimonthly basis. A summary report covering the year as a whole was drawn up which included recommendations on how to maintain and improve quality casework and how to improve the sampling process which will continue throughout 2004. Implementation of the recommendations has been prioritised for action in the 2004 Office Business Plans.

Case Numbers
Good progress was made in this area in 2003. A target of 865 cases on hand at the end of 2003 was set and by the end of the year there were 814 cases on hand. We aimed to reduce the number of open cases over 52 weeks to 173 by the end of 2003 and the number of such cases at the end of the year was 167.

Relations with Public Bodies within Remit
During the year the Office continued with its programme of regional seminars, as agreed between my Office and representatives of the County and City Managers' Association. The purpose of the seminars is to build better working relations between my Office and local authorities so that we can gain a better understanding of our respective roles and to explore ways in which we can provide a better quality service to our respective clients. Last year my staff met with three County Managers and seminars were held at two locations; Wicklow County Council and Cork City Council. Continuing with the theme: What local authorities can do to improve service to the Ombudsman and how the Ombudsman can help local authorities, the Office is keen to promote a culture of helpfulness rather than censure (carrot rather than stick) and to overcome any barrier to effective communication that may exist between my Office and local authorities. I am very grateful to the host authorities who organised the seminars and for the courteous and hospitable manner in which my staff were received. We will continue to develop the process, taking on board ideas from local authorities with a view to ensuring that every local authority has an opportunity to participate in a seminar in the not too distant future.

Training initiatives were held with the Mid-Western Health Board and with the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Significant progress was made with the Department of Health and Children, who accepted Ombudsman principles in relation to compensation and engaged in proactive discussion over difficulties in the interpretation of the guidelines under which decisions on Domiciliary Care Allowance are made. While the legislation establishing a statutory complaints procedure in the health sector has not been published to date, a framework on complaint handling in the eastern region, developed by the Eastern Regional Health Authority, identified the Ombudsman as the appropriate final avenue of complaint. Staff from my Office also played a significant role in an initiative relating to patient satisfaction indicators developed by the Health Boards Executive arising out of the national health strategy.

During the year a number of Departments, including the Department of Education and Science, consulted my Office about the development of internal complaints and appeals procedures.

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