As an ombudsman, you're an office of last resort. You would get involved if there's an issue that arises after you've exhausted internal mechanisms.
Now, that is not an absolute rule. If your issue is that your case has never been listed to be heard, then of course you wouldn't wait until it's heard, because you'd never hear the case. So there are exceptions to that rule, but normally it's an office of last resort. Until then, the function of the ombudsman is normally one of assisting complainants to use those mechanisms. There are a lot of exceptions, but that is the short answer. And it works.