Complaints – a threat or opportunity?

Donna Campbell

Assistant Ombudsman

This session will explore:

• how we can ensure that the expectations of people who use services are central to how complaints are received, handled and resolved by services;

• the opportunities to use complaints as a tool for individual learning, service improvement and wider system change;

• how complaints can be used more effectively to support local accountability and scrutiny of local services.

The Ombudsman’s experience

• We investigate complaints about councils and independent social care providers

• Free, impartial and final

• If we find something wrong, we recommend action to put it right  

• 12,000 complaints looked into last year

The Social Care Ombudsman

- Since 1974 consider complaints about council run and funded adult social care services.

+ From 2009 role extended to include all privately funded social care.

= Single ombudsman service for all adult social care.

At a glance:social care complaints in 2013

At a glance:social care complaints in 2013

Complaints by type

Frequent types of complaints and enquiries

The numbers:what we saw in 2013

The complainant’s experience

What can we piece together from these individual stories …

And what does it tell us about quality?

Accessibility

How can we ensure that the expectations of people who use services are central to how complaints are received, handled and resolved by services.

• Ensuring people know about their right to complain to the provider and to seek the independent view of the Ombudsman.

• Statutory signposting

• A sign in every care setting

• The role of advocacy

The complainant’s experience

Effectiveness

The opportunities to use complaints as a tool for individual learning, service improvement and wider system change.

• Higher number of complaints can reflect organisations with open mature approach to customer feedback and concerns.

• Relatively low numbers of complaints from private providers – sector should challenge itself.

• Common complaint standards/expectations

• Underpinned by regulatory framework.

Accountability

How complaints can be used more effectively to support local accountability and scrutiny of local services.

• An annual review of complaints by providers

• A mandated data return to CQC

Thank you.

Any Questions?

www.lgo.org.uk