To
say the least I am somewhat taken aback by the assessor’s response! To cut a long story short the P&HSO has made three points:
Firstly, the ombudsman feels that I am not an appropriate person to raise
a complaint against the NHS Trust because I am an elected county councillor! In addition, it is considered that I'm not qualified to complain because I am not the aggrieved party, and finally my
constituents are not entitled to complain either because the issue came to
light more than 12 months ago and queries are now time-barred.
It
should be noted that my initial complaint to the P&HSO was submitted eleven
months ago, on 18 June 2012, so I think it’s reasonable to assume that, if the ombudsman's assessor fully understood the process involved, I would have been advised
within days of my initial complaint that, as a democratically elected and
accountable representative, I am not entitled to challenge the Trust.
When, on many occasions in the past, I’ve pressed senior members of the NHS Trust to justify the poor level and format of
engagement in East Durham in relation to their Momentum proposals they
have consistently prided themselves on “consulting” elected members at Durham County Council - but to what purpose if elected members are deemed inappropriate people to
challenge their decisions or raise concerns on behalf of their constituents? Surely, even an out-of-touch and unaccountable body such as the NHS Trust wouldn't indulge in a mere box-ticking exercise simply to force through their distorted and publicly unpopular proposals?
