Documents attached

The Sub-Committee was presented with the Adult Service Complaints report.

The report is required as part of the remit of ‘The Local Authority Social Services & NHS Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 and Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 to be published annually.

The report outlined the complaints, enquiries, compliments and Member correspondence received during the period April 2023 – March 2024. There was an increase in complaints directed to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), with nine out of 14 cases dismissed by the LGO. With concerns raised about home care provisions, which were sometimes not addressed until the Ombudsman intervened, leading to disappointment.

It was stated that previously, complaints were directed to service providers who followed their own procedures. Members were informed that the service were often informed of issues only when they escalated to the Ombudsman, which highlighted a gap in accountability. Officers emphasized the need for providers to notify the service of complaints to enhance contract monitoring and quality assurance.

The number of statutory complaints rose to 124, up from 115 the previous year. In officers’ opinion the increase was viewed positively, as it suggested a healthy turnover of complaints. The team reported a 15% rise in enquiries, particularly regarding financial issues. Efforts were made to ensure thorough documentation of financial conversations.

It was reported that there was a notable increase 183% in complaints that related to the financial assessment process. The rise was attributed to a combination of staffing changes and procedural adjustments. Members noted the officers’ have been tasked with improving processes and addressing the backlog.

It was noted that response times improved, with 75% of complaints addressed within 20 working days. This improvement was credited to officers’ efforts in enhancing the service's responsiveness, despite the challenges posed by needing to coordinate with external agencies. There was also an increase in compliments received, from 48 to 90. The service acknowledged the importance of recognising positive feedback alongside complaints, thus emphasizing the value of compliments in maintaining morale.

Discussions included encouraging elected members to utilize the new complaint system portal for logging inquiries on behalf of constituents. The aim was to streamline the process and improve tracking to prevent issues from being overlooked.

The meeting noted ongoing challenges related to hospital discharge processes and the communication of financial assessments to service users. It was acknowledged that many families struggled with the complexities of post-discharge decisions.

A decline in service user satisfaction and feelings of safety was reported, prompting a need for further analysis to understand the underlying factors. Members of the sub-committee expressed the importance of investigating these trends and their implications for service delivery. The importance of continued monitoring and improvement in service delivery was reiterated.

The Sub-Committee noted the contents of the report with the particular challenges faced by the service during 2023-24 with the added pressures resulting from the cost of living crisis and the continued efforts in resolving and learning from complaints.

Members noted:

(a)  the continued use of complaints as a learning tool to identify actions to improve services. 

(b)  the continued monitoring by the Service and the Complaints & Information Team to ensure actions are implemented to evidence the service improvements with a view to reduce similar complaints.

The Sub-Committee noted the increase in the positive feedback received by staff, during a particularly difficult period, by way of compliments received and highlighting examples of good practice.