We value feedback from complaints as they help us understand the experience of our residents and improve our services. By examining the causes, themes, and outcomes of complaint investigations, we can pinpoint areas needing attention and enhance our quality of care.

Throughout the year the Complaints Team has met and discussed complaints with officers from Adult Social Services and provided monthly complaint reports for senior officers. The Aim of these interactions is to promote a culture of continuous improvement through learning from complaints. They are discussed during supervisions, individual meetings, and team meetings, ensuring ongoing learning throughout the year.

During this period, 54 complaints were investigated. Of these, 18 were partially upheld, and another 18 were upheld in full.

The key issues identified below are from analysis of the complaints received in the period 23/24.

• Communication

  Many of the corrective measures that arose from complaints in this period focused on enhancing communication. Repeatedly, the need for clearer communication about processes, expectations, and updates was expressed by individuals.
  
  By Improving communication we could prevent fewer misunderstandings, boost overall satisfaction, and reduce complaints.

• Service Quality

  Several steps were taken to enhance the quality of services following complaints. This included reviewing the quality-of-care agencies, improving direct payment offers, and ensuring general better service delivery. 
  These actions were undertaken to maintain high standards and avoid lapses in service quality which sometimes led to complaints.

• Officer Training

  Some complaint investigations determined that certain officers might improve their practice decisions with more training. To this end, throughout the year there has been continuous learning and development to ensure that staff are well-equipped to manage various situations and learn from issues arising from complaints to prevent a recurrence.

Analysis

In 2023/24, there were several complaints which caused us to act and amend our service delivery, a brief outline of these is provided below:

1. To address a complaint regarding care home service quality, we intensified our quality and assurance oversight as part of our quarterly contract monitoring and quality assurance visits. This was to try to ensure that our care home providers met the standards expected by our service users and their families.
2. In response to a complaint about poor communication around the cost to a resident who transitioned into a care home, we reinforced the importance of transparent communication. Staff were briefed about the importance of making residents aware of the financial impact of such a move, to prevent further complaints of this nature reoccurring in the future.
3. Following a complaint relating to hospital discharge processes, we amended our procedures to place a greater emphasis on reviewing a person's previous records and how they have responded to care and support at home.
4. Due to a concern about the support for neurodivergent individuals, we initiated discussions at the senior management level to reform the ICMP team's approach to better cater to these individuals' needs.
5. To address a complaint about poor record-keeping and communication timeliness, we provided additional training to our staff, to try to ensure all decisions and assessments are documented to a high standard.
6. After receiving a complaint about delays in our safeguarding process, we reviewed and updated our procedures to monitor the allocation of safeguarding within better timescales.
7. Ongoing complaints caused us to actively review and sped up recruitment processes to manage demand more effectively.

These actions demonstrate a proactive approach to learning from complaints and making service improvements. This not only helps in resolving individual issues but also contributes to the overall quality of the services provided.