| Synopsis: |
There are currently two separate statutory processes for handling complaints about health and social care services: NHS organizations are accountable to the Department of Health and social care services are accountable through their local authority, whilst adult social care rests with the Department.There are differences in the numbers of stages and timescales involved and in the arrangements for advocacy support and independent investigation. The Health Service Ombudsman is responsible for the ultimate review and decision on NHS complaints and the Local Government Ombudsman for social care complaints.The National Audit Office has undertaken an evaluation of existing performance, capability, capacity, and costs of complaints handling in both health and adult social care.In this report, the National Audit Office has set out a number of findings and recommendations, including: where people are dissatisfied, there is a low number who make formal complaints; navigating the complaints systems is not straightforward, particularly for health service users; only a small proportion of NHS complainants are aware, or receive national advocacy support; the culture and attitudes of the organizations are often a barrier to responsive complaint handling; neither the health or social care organizations know the cost of complaints handling; and, pursuing a complaint requires considerable time, determination and resilience. |