The Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) will become the Private Healthcare Ombudsman on 1 April 2027, following approval of its application for Ombudsman Membership by the Ombudsman Association.
ISCAS has provided independent adjudication of patient complaints about private healthcare since 2001. Its nearly 300 subscribing providers, across all four nations of the UK, range from major hospital groups to independent clinics, doctors and NHS private patient units.
The Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) notes that 97% of independent healthcare providers in England subscribe to the scheme.
Ombudsman status recognises that the scheme meets the Association’s criteria for independence, fairness, effectiveness, openness, transparency and accountability. The Association’s Validation Committee said the application reflected “careful preparation, mature governance arrangements, and a clear commitment to meeting both the letter and spirit of the OA’s membership criteria”.
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), an independent registered charity, has worked with ISCAS since 2015, initially hosting the service and then acquiring it in 2022. ISCAS now operates independently as part of the CEDR Group, giving the service a strong institutional base while preserving its impartial decision-making. This relationship will continue when ISCAS becomes the Private Healthcare Ombudsman.
Sally Taber, Director of ISCAS, said: “For many years, ISCAS has provided an independent complaints service for patients and providers across the UK’s independent healthcare sector. Recognition as an ombudsman builds on that established role and provides further reassurance that patients have access to an impartial and trusted service when concerns cannot be resolved directly with their healthcare provider. This is an important development for the sector and one that strengthens its commitment to high standards of patient care and complaint handling. We will continue to work closely with our subscribing providers, representative bodies and regulators across all four nations of the UK as we make the transition to the Private Healthcare Ombudsman.”
Full press release attached below:
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