Alderman John Carson (Mid and East Antrim Borough Council), has been suspended from his role as councillor for 3 months following an Adjudication Hearing held on 10 October.

Our latest Bulletin provides an update on our work to introduce common standards for complaints handling in the public sector. We also highlight some of the investigations we have carried out over the last Quarter.

We recently conducted two online surveys in support of our Own Initiative investigation into how the Trust communicates with patients on a healthcare waiting list.

We recently reached another important milestone in our programme of transforming the way public bodies deal with complaints.

Councillor Marc Collins (Mid and East Antrim Borough Council), has been suspended from his role as a councillor for 8 months following an Adjudication Hearing held on 24 June.

NIPSO is committed to delivering the highest standards of service to the public. We will not only listen to what people tell us about their experience but we will learn from and act on this also. Our new Strategic Plan for 2022 – 2025 sets out an ambitious vision to be a more accessible, effective and innovative office.

Our new Bulletin includes information on our latest Own Initiative investigation, an update on our complaints standards work, and highlights recent investigation reports into complaints about patient care in three separate health trusts.

We have begun an own initiative investigation into how Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care Trusts communicate with patients on healthcare waiting lists.

We want to make a positive difference to people and public services in Northern Ireland.  We do this by resolving complaints and making recommendations so that mistakes are not repeated. Our new Strategic Plan sets out how we intend to carry out this work.  We will be independent, people-focused and fair.  We will also aim to deliver excellence, with a focus on continuous learning and improvement.

A plan to transform how public bodies handle complaints has been launched today by the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO).