The Ombudsman has found that a planning officer dealing with a man’s application considered the appropriate policies and took a planning consultant’s views into account before making her decision.
The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman has informed the Department for Communities that she is proposing, under new powers, to launch an investigation into the way the Department administers Personal Independence Payments (PIPs). The welfare benefit replaced Disability Living Allowance in June 2016.
The Public Services Ombudsman has upheld a complaint from a member of the public who complained about the way the Housing Executive handled her request for a grant to buy a property.
A report released today has revealed that enquiries to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman increased by 37% in the last year. Out of the 4,987 calls and enquiries received by the Office in 2017-18 (compared to 3,385 the previous year), a total of 665 were forwarded for further investigation (up 23% from 2016-17).
Investigation concludes that further observations should have been carried out and discharge delayed until patient was well enough to tolerate fluids and food.
Ombudsman finds that man’s ‘red-eye’ should have been monitored more closely while he was in hospital, and that an earlier diagnosis would have improved the chances of his vision being retained. (4 October 2018)
