Browsing by Person "Hirst, Carolyn"

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Defining Consumer Ombudsmen: A Report for Ombudsman Services
(Ombudsman Services, 2016-03-15) Gill, Chris; Hirst, Carolyn; Ombudsman Services
This report seeks to describe consumer ombudsmen as they have developed in the United Kingdom. The recent European Union Directive on Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (2013/11/EU) defines consumer dispute resolution mechanisms in general, but does not distinguish between them individually. It does not, for instance, distinguish between consumer ombudsmen, arbitrators and adjudication schemes. Other existing approaches to definition, such as the Ombudsman Association's criteria for 'ombudsman membership', provide principles for ombudsmen in general, but do not distinguish between public ombudsmen and consumer ombudsmen. Our task in this report, therefore, has been to describe the distinguishing features of consumer ombudsmen. Our approach, rather than seeking to provide a definition, has been to describe the key characteristics of consumer ombudsmen through comparison with other forms of dispute resolution and to situate consumer ombudsmen within the broader consumer protection landscape. Our view is that the fundamentally hybrid nature of consumer ombudsmen, combined with broader developments in the ombudsman and consumer dispute resolution landscape, have led to a lack of clarity and confusion in relation to the nature of consumer ombudsmen.
Designing Consumer Redress: a Dispute System Design (DSD) Model for Consumer-to-Business Disputes
(The Society of Legal Scholars, 2016-04-26) Gill, Chris; Williams, Jane; Brennan, Carol; Hirst, Carolyn
This article proposes a model for designing consumer dispute resolution (CDR) mechanisms (including conciliation, adjudication, arbitration, and ombuds schemes). This field has expanded significantly in recent years, replacing courts as the primary forum of dispute resolution in some areas of consumer-to-business activity. This expansion has been ad hoc, with a lack of consistency in the design of CDR mechanisms and in the overall shape of the CDR landscape. In light of the recent implementation of the EU's Directive on Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution and Regulation on Consumer Online Dispute Resolution, Dispute System Design (DSD) requires urgent attention to ensure that the design of future mechanisms is based on coherent principles. A failure to address this issue risks undermining the legitimacy of state-sanctioned dispute resolution. The model described in this article proposes a systematic approach and aims to: synthesise existing DSD models; apply the concepts of DSD to the field of CDR; and provide a framework that may be of use in other disputing contexts.
Dysfunctional accountability in complaint systems: The effects of complaints on public service employees
(Sweet & Maxwell, 2019-10) Gill, Christian; Sapouna, Maria; Hirst, Carolyn; Williams, Jane
This article examines the effect that being complained about has on public service employees. The volume of complaints about public bodies is significant: an estimated 543,000 complaints a year are made about central government, while the English NHS was subject to 208,415 complaints in 2016-2017. Despite the significant expansion of complaint procedures following the Citizen’s Charter reforms in the 1990s, there has been no empirical research into the way in which complaints affect employees outwith the healthcare sector. Most scholarly debate has focused on whether complaints procedures within government have improved customer service or been useful for service improvement. Little attention has been paid to the experience of being subject to a complaint and the influence this has on work practice. In this respect, the public accountability literature suggests that significant dysfunctional effects may result from accountability regimes, including: defensive practices, tick-box compliance, excessive formality, and reduced innovation. In the healthcare setting, negative effects arising from being complained about include defensive medical practice, avoidance behaviours, wariness towards service users, and reduced wellbeing. While some positive effects have been reported, the thrust of healthcare studies is that complaints have harmful effects on professionals. To date, however, the effects of complaint systems outwith the healthcare context remain uncharted: we do not know whether other public services are affected in similar ways.
Models of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): A report for the Legal Ombudsman
(Legal Ombudsman, 2014-10-31) Gill, Chris; Williams, Jane; Brennan, Carol; Hirst, Carolyn
The aim of this research was to investigate what the Legal Ombudsman can learn from other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers. The research was commissioned by the Legal Ombudsman to help it review and develop its dispute resolution model and ensure it remains fit-for-purpose. The research involved a case study design and fieldwork was conducted with ten organisations: four in the UK, one in Ireland, two in New Zealand, one in Australia, one in Canada and one in the USA. The research highlighted a range of dispute resolution practices and illustrated some of the key design choices that ADR providers need to make when designing or reviewing a dispute resolution scheme. These fell within four areas: the use of online dispute resolution; the early stages of dispute resolution processes; mediation approaches; and the later stages of dispute resolution and building influence.
The Outcome of Complaints
(The Care Inspectorate, 2013-07) Simmon, Richard; Brennan, Carol; Gill, Chris; Hirst, Carolyn
The main focus of this project is the outcome and impact of complaint investigations on individual complainants in care services and on the services complained against. The aim is to ensure that people receive high quality care and to support and encourage the development of better ways of delivering care services. While there have been some studies of the process of investigating complaints, there has been little or no research of its impact on services. This project seeks to identify the difference a complaint investigation makes to outcomes for people using the service.
Towards therapeutic complaints resolution
(Hart, 2022-04-07) Williams, Jane; Gill, Chris; Hirst, Carolyn; Groves, Matthew; Stuhmcke, Anita