Ministry of Health launches hospital ombudsman
The Ministry of Health and the Office of the Ombudsman has launched the hospital ombudsman to ensure improved service delivery in health facilities.
Speaking during the launch in Lilongwe on Saturday, Minister of Health Atupele Muluzi said the ministry prioritises improvement of linkage between users and healthcare service providers to increase accountability between healthcare providers and communities.
Said the minister: “One of the ways we want to achieve this is through the office of the hospital ombudsman. They will have representatives in every health care facility to take up issues and concerns from the public with the aim of investigating them, providing solutions and initiating changes where necessary to improve service delivery.”
In her remarks, Ombudsman Martha Chizuma said her office embarked on repositioning its agenda with the main focus on issues of maladministration in public service delivery.
She said: “In each of the facilities across the country, there shall be a focal person known as hospital ombudsman. They will be responsible for ensuring that principles important to public health accountability are upheld which include transparency, fairness, integrity and trust.”
The Ombudsman noted that Section 123 of the Malawi Constitution and the Ombudsman Act have given them discretionary power to investigate any cases that a person suffers.
The concept will be implemented in all public and Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham) health facilities, but will be coordinated by the national office of Ombudsman which has the legal framework to support complaint handling.
Chief director of finance in the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) Rexie Chiluzi has since urged Malawians to utilise the hospital ombudsman. n
