Resolving patients' complaints about hospitals: responsive regulation by health ombudsmen

Responsive regulation theory assumes that soft regulation works in most cases. This project will test this hypothesis by analysing the regulatory strategies of health ombudsmen in two Australian states (New South Wales and Queensland), and the responses by hospitals to ombudsmen resolutions of patients complaints. It will examine whether undertakings by hospitals to improve the quality of their services are implemented, and whether softer regulatory strategies (informal procedures) are more likely to produce such changes than harder strategies (formal procedures). The study will make a significant contribution to regulatory theory and to promoting health system responsiveness and accountability to the public.