A year and a half after the Ombudsman’s Office released a report on public service to citizens, the same entity releases another document, in which it evaluates improvements and failures in this period. The report was published this Tuesday, October 14th. The problems identified are well known to Portuguese and immigrants who depend on the public service.
It is the case that “there is no generalization or standardization of solutions” and “evident difficulties in achieving full harmonization of procedures between public services”. In other words, at each counter, or even for each person who serves the citizen, the information may be different.
In the Ombudsman’s view, the consequence is the “limitation of universal access to public services”. In addition to the lack of this harmonization, there are also failures in the “consistency in the application of the rules”.
Another problem identified is in communication with users, with insufficient publicity about in-person services without an appointment. It is worth remembering that the Government issued an ordinance that allows appointments without an appointment, but some entities do not comply.
“With regard to the provision of clear information about face-to-face service without an appointment and the constant updating of content, several flaws remain“. According to the Ombudsman’s Office, “there continue to be flaws in the way information about face-to-face service is communicated to the public, especially with regard to the need for prior scheduling and updating content online“.
This is the case at the Social Security headquarters, where people cannot even pass the door without an appointment. DN knows that, at the beginning of October, there were only available appointments for December. Regarding Social Security, the Ombudsman’s Office, although it recognizes the commitment to clarifying communication, considers that the information available on the website does not allow it to be determined which services in general are exclusively dependent on appointments.”
The lack of capacity to serve citizens, especially in Porto and Lisbon, is also noted in the report. Some entities consulted by the Ombudsman justify the lack of staff as the reason for the problem.
This is the case of Finance. “AT notes the impact of the current and future acceleration of the reduction in the number of employees in most Financial Services, mainly due to retirement, concluding that this fact must necessarily be taken into account in analyzes of citizen service”.
Social Security “did not provide concrete data or evidence regarding the implementation of new measures specifically aimed at strengthening response capacity in large urban centers, in addition to guaranteeing service without an appointment at Lojas do Cidadão”. In Social Security, another problem identified is that the user does not always receive proof of service.
Finally, problems such as lack of physical infrastructure and accessibility are also mentioned, such as stairs, insufficient ramps and unadapted bathrooms. The same occurs with digital accessibility, with some entities still not guaranteeing this type of service.
amanda.lima@dn.pt