The Office of the Ombudsman has highlighted the importance of strong lines of communication in it’s latest annual report.

Michael DeSilva, the Ombudsman, highlighted the need within the Bermuda Ombudsman Annual Report 2024, which was tabled in the House of Assembly on Friday.

Mr DeSilva noted his own meeting with a complainant who was unhappy with the office’s handling of his case.

“As he detailed his experience I realised that, despite the thoroughness of our investigation and the correctness of our conclusion, I had left the complainant in the dark about our discussions with the public authority,” Mr DeSilva wrote.

“I offered him an unreserved apology for this oversight. While it did not change the outcome of his case, nor should it, that apology and acknowledgement of my communication failure transformed the tenor of our relationship.

“He left not as an adversary but as someone who, while still disappointed in the result, understood that we had treated him with respect and honesty.”

The report included two case studies, both of which focused on communications-related issues.

In one case, a member of public filed a complaint against a government department about an application but despite multiple attempts was unable to receive an update.

The Ombudsman’s report said the office reached out to the department and was informed that the staff member that had been handling the application no longer worked there.

“Following weeks without a successful meeting between the complainant and the director, our office’s follow-up discovered the complainant was considering abandoning her application due to frustration.

“Further investigation revealed the director’s meeting request e-mail had failed to send due to connectivity issues.

“The director immediately resent the e-mail and our office promptly informed the complainant, who confirmed receipt and expressed appreciation for our involvement.”

The report said that the case highlighted the importance of communications and the need for verification processes for critical communications.

“The complainant’s near-abandonment of her application illustrates how unresponsiveness can erode public trust in government services, emphasising the importance of prompt intervention,” the report added.

In another case, an unspecified “oversight body” received multiple e-mails from anonymous aliases about a minor incident they had already investigated.

“The complainant, who wasn’t directly affected, alleged a cover-up and demanded specific actions,” the report said.

“While the body conducted an appropriate analysis, it avoided responding to the complainant because of the concerning communication pattern.

“Our review found that although the complainant’s approach was problematic, the oversight body’s failure to respond was inappropriate.

“As an agency that handles whistleblower complaints, it should have acknowledged receipt of the complaint, outlined its complaint process, clarified whether the outcomes would be shared and explained any investigation thresholds that applied.”

The report said that while public officers were expected to deal with all people fairly and impartially, they were not expected to tolerate behaviour that was abusive, offensive, threatening or made it difficult for them to deliver service.

“This case demonstrates why public authorities need strategies to manage unreasonable behaviour while maintaining transparency and procedural fairness.”

The report suggested establishing protocols about how to respond to complaints and disrespectful communications.

The Ombudsman’s Office handled 285 cases in 2024, comprising 223 new cases received during the year and 62 cases carried forward from previous years.

The office successfully disposed of 234 cases during the year, with 82 per cent of the caseload being closed at year-end with 51 cases still open at the end of the year.

In a statement, Mr DeSilva said the office had sought to increase public outreach, engage with public authorities and speed up casework, while remaining focused on “human-centred complaint resolution”.

“Behind every complaint that crosses our desks is a person — often frustrated, sometimes angry, frequently feeling unheard — who has turned to us as their last hope.

“It is this deeply personal dimension of our mandate that continues to humble and motivate me.

“This human-centred approach has become increasingly central to our methodology and I believe it has made us more effective advocates for fair and reasonable outcomes.”