Source: Community Care
The Community Care website recently published an article that announced a slight increase in the number of complaints about adult social care sent to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
In order for a complaint to be reviewed by the ombudsman, the complainant must exhaust the council’s own complaints process first before referring their complaint to the ombudsman. The ombudsman’s Review of Local Government Complaints showed that over 2,000 complaints were made about adult social care between 2016-17, and that 61% of these complaints were upheld.
The report shows the North West of England has the highest number of adult social care complaints, and the South East has the least.
Ombudsman, Michael King, wanted to make it clear that the outcomes from complaints are vital learning tool for local authorities by stating: “For a long time, we’ve been pressing just how important complaints can be as a learning tool for local authorities – and a great source of free feedback about the health of the services they provide.”
This can also be applied to care organisations, and shows how important effective complaints management is to your service. If you would like learn more about Hertfordshire County Council’s complaints process, we will have a presenter at the next Network Event in September who will be covering this topic in more detail. If you would like to come along to the Network Event please book your free place in advance.