The institution of public service ombudsmen is being reformed this year. With recent reports addressing such issues as end-of-life care in the NHS, the new single holder of the office could become a real protector of human rights in the face of consumerist pressures Very quietly, just before Christmas, the Government announced its response to a consultation, first published on 25 March last year, on the future of the public service ombudsmen in England. Largely accepting earlier recommendations for the reform and restructuring of the current ombudsman landscape, it stated its intention to create a single Public Services Ombudsman for England, replacing the existing Health Service Ombudsman and Local Government Ombudsman, and complementing a reformed United Kingdom Parliamentary Ombudsman