chief ombudsman to step down after ten years

30 June 2009

Walter Merricks, chief ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service, announced today that he would be stepping down – after ten years in the post which have seen him set up and run what has grown to become the world's largest ombudsman scheme.

Under his tenure as chief ombudsman, the Financial Ombudsman Service has handled over five million consumer enquiries and resolved 750,000 disputes between consumers and financial businesses. Last year it dealt with a record 127,471 complaints, with an average staff complement of 865.

Announcing his plans to step down as chief ombudsman, Walter Merricks said:

It has been a privilege to lead this organisation and its excellent people – but it is now time for me to move on.

A strong independent service providing justice in the field of consumer financial disputes is needed now more than ever. The ombudsman service has found a permanent place in the consumer-protection framework for financial services, and I am confident that the organisation will continue to be valued by financial firms and by consumers alike.

Our service is not just for consumers who find themselves in dispute. Research continues to show that more than half of UK consumers say the existence of the ombudsman gives them confidence in financial services.

Walter Merricks plans to leave the ombudsman service in the autumn, to become the first chair of the Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator (OHPA) – the new statutory organisation being set up, under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, as the single independent body to adjudicate in respect of cases of "fitness to practice" referred to it by the regulators of healthcare professionals.

The non executive board of the Financial Ombudsman Service, led by chairman Sir Christopher Kelly, will shortly begin recruiting for Walter Merricks' successor as chief ombudsman, including advertising the post publicly.

(DH) Improvements to the regulation of healthcare professionals

Measurements to improve the regulation and governance of healthcare professionals, providing greater reassurances for the public and professionals, were today set out in two reports published today by the Department of Health.

The Tackling Concerns Nationally and Tackling Concerns Locally reports are part of the wider Government reforms on professional regulation to raise professional standards and ensure patient safety. These two reports are the result of external working groups taking forward the implementation of the reforms announced in the White Paper - Trust, Assurance, Safety: the Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century - over the last 18 months.

Tackling Concerns Nationally (TCN) makes recommendations on professional regulation and assuring patient safety at a national level. It sets out recommendations for the establishment of the Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator (OHPA) which will look at cases brought forward assessing fitness to practise for healthcare professionals.

This separate body would be independent from existing professional regulators, the Government and the healthcare profession to ensure absolute fairness and transparency. The board will initially take on cases concerning doctors and will expand to other professions. A consultation has also been launched today which sets out proposals for the principles and governance of this new body.

Tackling Concerns Locally (TCL) sets out recommendations and principles of best practice to strengthen local NHS arrangements for identifying poor performance among healthcare workers and taking effective action. Local implementation will be supported by more detailed operational guidance and by regulations which the Department of Health will introduce later this year, after consultation with interested parties.

Health Minister, Ben Bradshaw said:

"Our overriding priority is to ensure that patients and the public are protected. The recommendations outlined in Tackling Concerns Nationally and Tackling Concerns Locally will put in place the best systems, both locally and nationally, to identify and address concerns about individual professional conduct and competence.

"These reports go a long way to further ensure healthcare standards in the NHS are high, and to reassure both public and professionals that the systems and processes put the safety of patients at their heart, while being fair to staff."

Professor Jenny Simpson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Association of Medical Managers and chair of the overarching Tackling Concerns Locally working group said:

"Every patient, professional and healthcare organisation has the right to expect that robust systems are in place ensuring that colleagues delivering care are up to date and fit to practice.

"I am delighted to see the launch of this important document. It details a range of practical measures, specifically designed to bridge any gaps between structures and processes within local organisations and national -level regulatory mechanisms."

Both Tackling Concerns reports are a critical component of the Government's drive to improve NHS services, as set out in the 2008 Next Stage Review, High Quality Care for All. As part of the professional standards programme, the Department of Health is looking at how to implement the recommendations in Tackling Concerns to help deliver the high quality workforce needed to ensure the safe, respectful and effective care that patients expect.