Representatives from the Office of the Ombudsman and those responsible for handling public complaints in many and diverse public bodies took part in the seminar, which took place in the spirit of the special report published the previous day on service to the public.
State Comptroller and Ombudsman Matanyahu Englman emphasized the importance of the manner of providing the service, during routine and emergency. According to him, "In particular, during the war we are experiencing the past year, the duty to provide service is magnified. Those who were harmed are much more in need of public services, with the emphasis on mental health issues and other matters. It is supremely important to streamline and promote the service to the public to a higher level. Upon taking office, I set myself a goal to increase the number of complaints to the Office of the Ombudsman – a complaining society is healthier because it does not lose faith in the system, and to make our services accessible to populations who do not always know how to insist upon their rights. The report published this week is the realization of a wish, since when we have seen in previous years that more than one third of the complaints deal with service to the public, we have found it fit to conduct a thorough examination of the matter and dedicate a report to the matter. I am grateful to the Director of the Office of the Ombudsman, Dr. Esther Ben-Haim, and to all the employees of the Office who were partners in the work behind this important report".
The Director of the Office of the Ombudsman, Adv. Dr. Esther Ben-Haim, presented the main points of the special and innovative report, which includes two parts: One part is a survey of the service where "scores" were awarded to several large public bodies, and a part containing 100 standards for the best public service, built based on the rich experience of the Office of the Ombudsman in investigating complaints regarding service to the public and based on additional professional and academic knowledge.
After the opening words, the participants were split into groups, discussing the various topics that were found to be central in the report, which were:
The importance of preparing for the provision of service and response in times of emergency and crisis – in view of the COVID-19 crisis and the Swords of Iron War and the Northern Arrows operation, the need arose to prepare in a new, different and significant manner in order to provide service in times of emergency. The group, guided by Talya Rozin, the Chairwoman of the Association of Local Government Auditors in Israel and the Internal Auditor and Public Complaints Commissioner at the Migdal HaEmek Municipality, discussed the matter, set out the challenges in detail and proposed solutions.
The service recipient as a customer – the group, guided by social worker Simona Steinmetz, the Commissioner for Children and Youth in Out-Of-Home Placement Complaints from the Ministry of ….., discussed the concept of the recipient of public service as a customer. The group examined how this matter should be expressed, among other things in the face-to-face service centers and on the internet.
The service to the public in the digital age – the group was guided by David Regev, the Public Complaints Commissioner in the Second Authority for Television and Radio, and it discussed the topic of the digital age and its influence on service to the public. Has everything gone online? What are the advantages of this? And how should we, as a society and service providers, act in order not to leave behind whoever has not moved to the digital age?
The removal of blocks in the provision of service and the promotion of exercising of rights – Brig. Gen. (res.) Rachel Tevet-Vizel, the Military Ombudsman, guided the group that set out in detail the existing blocks in providing the best service and in the assistance to the recipients of service in exercising their rights. At the discussion, it was agreed that the sharing of information, transparency and transverse cooperation between the various bodies can promote a convenient, accessible and more available public service.
In her summarizing speech, Dr. Ben-Haim, the Director of the Office of the Ombudsman, emphasized the significant change promoted by the Office in recent years as a professional home for the investigation of complaints, which is creating connections between those engaged in the task of investigating complaints and public inquiries for the purpose of sharing information and knowledge, a profound understanding of the different areas of responsibility and inter-personal acquaintance, and all for the sake of the provision of a better public service.