On the 14th July, PHSO released its first annual report with Paula Sussex at the helm. It has indeed been a record-breaking year for the Ombudsman.
In the Foreword (p8/9) we can see Ms Sussex in a picture reminiscent of a posed school photograph. One hand holding a pen (industrious), while the other rests on an important document. She is pondering how to deal with a “significant increase in complaints”.
Look, here’s mine from 1961. One hand placed upon a train (going places) while in the background a globe.
Sussex uses the foreword to remind us that her mission is to “increase our impact”
So, how has she done? Well, in 2025/26, PHSO decided 9.8% more complaints than in 2024/25 and accepted 31% more complaints for primary investigation. (p39) So far so good.
But only detailed investigations can lead to a decision to uphold and unfortunately, these decreased by 8.17%.
Not only were there fewer detailed investigations, but these led to fewer upholds (see Failings or injustice identified, with recommendations made), down by 15.4%.
To summarise, more people made complaints that met the remit for investigation (+ 3,655 or +9.8%), but fewer cases were given a detailed investigation (-59 or -8.17%) and fewer complaints were upheld (-84 or -15.4%). Just how this qualifies as successfully increasing the impact of the Ombudsman is anyone’s guess.
PHSO has been on a continual downward trajectory since Rob Behrens took office in 2017, and Ms Sussex appears to be following his lead. Barely 2% of all complaints receive a full investigation and in 2025/26 just 1.1% received any form of uphold (this data includes partial upholds).
I wonder if anyone in senior management ever mentions the low uphold rate as a factor in the ‘systemic’ rise in complaints? I doubt it.
As more people complain and even more people get turned away with nothing, soon everyone will know how useless this government quango really is. Oh, I nearly forgot. PHSO did manage to break another record in 2025/26. They managed to spend £51.9 million upholding 461 complaints. That’s approximately £113,000 per upheld case. But of course Ms Sussex would argue that PHSO do a lot more than just uphold complaints. They train public sector staff and write important reports such as “Improving conversations in end of life care”. Nothing usually happens as a consequence of such reports landing on the desks of government ministers, but no matter. It gives everyone something to do.
It’s not easy for Ms Sussex to carve out her niche when Behrens has already crafted a ‘successful’ process of disposing of complaints and received a knighthood for it. So how about a rebranding exercise? (p9)
As a core part of building understanding of
our role and mission, this year also marked an
important step in the evolution of our identity,
as we prepare to change our name to the
Public Service Ombudsman. Built on research
and testing with the public and our colleagues,
our new name will better reflect what we do
and help more people find and use our service.
Have no fear, the rebranded Public Service Ombudsman (PSO = please sod off) will continue to protect public services from public accountability. It will probably cost a few £M, (hence the predicted rise in expenditure for 26/27) as private consultants and graphic designers are called in and Ms Sussex will no doubt take great care over the choice of colours for the new logo. What was that saying about Rome burning?
phsothetruestory 
This is a great analysis of the latest PHSO figures. The pattern of more complaints accepted but fewer detailed investigations and even fewer upholds will be familiar to many who have used the service.
My own experience with the PHSO in relation to Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust followed a similar trajectory. An initial investigator indicated that my complaint would be upheld and prepared a draft report in my favour. Shortly afterwards the investigator was replaced, the draft report was destroyed, and a fundamentally different report was issued that did not uphold my complaint. I later discovered the Ombudsman was mates with the Trust’s CEO both were who soon to be removed from public office for covering up . It’s open corruption here in grubby UK.
I have documented my experience here for anyone interested:
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Sir Rob became Ombudsman nine years ago and embarked on ensuring organisations themselves had robust complaint handling. The real question to ask is why, after nine years of effort, PHSO is receiving more complaints annually about these organisations. If this strategy is really successful, we should expect the number of complaints to the Ombudsman to drop. If Paula Sussex continues along the same path, we can probably expect the trend of increased complaints to continue.
PHSO, or whatever it morphs into after its name change, should focus on more detailed investigations such as the WASPI one which the former Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, ignored.
On the subject of the WASPI case, the PHSO Annual Report is silent on the matter. They have missed the opportunity to support the case for their own powers to be enhanced and decisions to be binding on every Government Department and the NHS
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They don’t want binding powers which tells you all you need to know.
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PSO = ‘Please Sod Off’. Like it!
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My book, The Last Two Days: A Husband’s Search for Truth, Transparency and Understanding, is now available on Amazon.
I wrote it following the death of my wife, Pauline, and my attempts to understand what had happened and obtain answers. Although the book begins with her final hospital admission, much of it follows my journey through the NHS complaints process and, particularly, my experience with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
The book examines concerns around transparency, the evidence considered, the involvement of complainants and the independence of the PHSO process. Following the PHSO’s final report, I went through a further OAT investigation, before later obtaining records through a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR).
The DSAR revealed information that raised further questions about the investigation and the evidence that had been considered. I put those questions forward, but they were ultimately met with silence.
My goal in writing the book was not only to document my experience, but to provide the Trust, the PHSO and my MP with hard copies for reflection. That has now been achieved, and I wait with bated breath to see whether there will be any response.
The book is based on the records, correspondence, investigation documents, meeting transcripts and other evidence from my journey. I hope it may also be useful to others who have found themselves facing similar processes.
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Well done to you. All we can do is reveal the truth and warn others.
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Spot on Della, and funny too!
Sorry to go on about it, but Sussex (no doubt to be Dame Paula in due course) seems entirely unconcerned about the fact that 18 months ago the Welsh Ombudsman found that Hilsenrath, the current CEO, had (I’ll be careful) made statements to me as CEO of the EHRC in 2020 for which there was “no evidence”. In my purely personal opinion(!) that is lying and also something called “maladminstration”. When I asked for the PSOW’s recommendations to be followed up – further questions and investigation – the PHSO (under Hilsenrath, at that time – February 2025 – Acting Ombudsman!) shut the whole thing down and refused to take any further action.
Fancy that!
I hope that before Christmas this year the Information Tribunal will rule that the EHRC must disclose the outcome of its 2021 investigation of Hilsenrath’s 2020 COVID lockdown breaches. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow – I made the request two years ago and the Information Commissioner ordered the EHRC to cough up the information over a year ago. Then we shall find out whether Hilsenrath was entirely truthful with the PHSO in 2021 when she applied for and secured the role of Director of Strategy (£120k a year) and then when she applied for and got promotion to CEO (£140k a year) in 2023. It perhaps goes without saying that her conduct at the EHRC could also have had some bearing on things, if there had been any sort of real transparency, when she submitted herself to Parliament as a candidate to be Acting Ombudsman in 2024.
Her and Baroness Falkner’s pronouncements about the lockdown breaches and the subsequent investigation – Hilsenrath resigned before any real progress could be made, and avoided disciplinary action – are all already in the public domain.
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They protect their own Mark. Don’t hold your breath!
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This is a great blog. The PHSO (or PSO) have been claiming a record breaking year while busily giving people’s complaints the elbow! The idea that they “will increase our impact” is patent nonsense. Is there any evidence of “system-level change that will make public services work better for everyone”? There is certainly evidence that it fails to make an impact, such as the Women’s State Pension Age decision by the PHSO which has been ignored by the government. There is a lot of evidence that the PHSO does not deliver “fair and impartial justice” with a feeble uphold rate of 1% for complaints. The PHSO is a busybody make-work organisation that fails to deliver justice or system-level change. Unfortunately Parliament seems to like it that way.
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As ever, a brilliant summery of ‘goings on at the top’.
Thank you to those who lets us see the light for the trees! Just keep paying your tex bill, your country needs it!
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