Social Care Ombudsman Publishes Complaints Figures for 2023-24
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is reiterating its call for care providers to be required to tell people about its service, after highlighting the relatively small number of cases it deals with about the independent sector.
In its Annual Review of Adult Social Care Complaints 2023-24, the number of complaints about privately funded and arranged care has dropped by 15%, following a continued trend over the past few years. This number, the Ombudsman says, is far lower than it would expect given the sector’s proportion of the care market. Over the past year, the Ombudsman received 2,982 complaints about adult care, with just 333 of those being from people who fund their own care.
In order to bridge the gap between the number of people in receipt of care in the independent sector, and the low volume of complaints, the Ombudsman is calling for signposting to its services to be made mandatory at the end of every provider’s complaint process.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal said: “People have a right to bring their complaint about adult social care to us, as the independent scrutineer. However, they don’t always know they can do so, and independent care providers should be signposting them to us, just as councils do. Independent care providers will often have both private and council-funded clients, and there should be the same route to redress however people’s care is funded.”
“It is likely that low awareness of our role in privately funded and arranged care plays a part in creating this gap between the expectation and reality of the number of complaints we receive. Independent care providers are not required by law to signpost users to our service, and as it currently stands, we know it happens sporadically.”
“As a result, people are potentially missing out on their right to access our services, and providers are missing out on the opportunity to learn from mistakes and to improve their services. We want the services provided by the care sector to be excellent across the board: we carry out our work to not only give individual redress but to improve services for everyone.”
“If all care providers were required by law to signpost to us it would give confidence that people know where to come with complaints and would support any suggestion that the drop in complaint numbers is caused by something other than a lack of awareness.”
In 2023-24 the Ombudsman upheld 80% of all adult social care (including council delivered care) cases it investigated in detail, with 99% of organisations complying with the remedies the Ombudsman recommended to put things right.
Key areas of concern over the past year have been delays in the assessment of people’s needs, and a failure to put people at the centre of the care they receive, instead fitting that care in with council and providers’ systems.
Poor communication with both clients and their families has also been an area of concern throughout the process, with particular issues around the information provided to service-users, and their families, being unclear or overly complex.
Reflecting on the findings, Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said: “This report brings into sharp focus the interconnected challenges within the adult social care sector, affecting both local authorities and care providers. It is alarming that such a high proportion of complaints are upheld, but this signals systemic problems that cannot be ignored.”
“The fact that over 80% of complaints were upheld points to systemic failings that urgently need addressing. Local authorities play a pivotal role in the adult social care system, and we call on them to work more closely with care providers to ensure that assessments are carried out promptly, and that individuals are involved in decisions about their care.”
“Equally, Care England stands with the Ombudsman in calling for greater transparency and accountability across the sector. It is imperative that all care providers signpost their complaints processes clearly, enabling service users and their families to raise concerns and contribute to service improvement.”
