Scotland’s Care Inspectorate has published an in-depth report on complaints about care services in the country, with overall complaints down slightly year-on-year.
The report covers complaints received and investigated between April 2019 and March 2024, and focuses in particular on the most recent year, 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
The statistics show the Care Inspectorate actioned every complaint received and responded appropriately using a risk-based assessment process to satisfactorily resolve complaints as quickly as possible.
The Care Inspectorate received 5,646 complaints in 2023/24, a 4% decrease on last year but still reflecting a long-term increasing trend.
In 2023/24, 33% of all areas of complaints upheld were about healthcare concerns in a service (for example medication, nutrition or tissue viability), 13% were about wellbeing (stress/distress, developmental, emotional or social), 13% were about communication (either between staff and people experiencing care/relatives/carers or on information about the service) and 11% were about staff (such as staff levels, training or recruitment procedures). These have been a consistent top four over time.
All complaints are assessed to ensure that they are within the remit of the Care Inspectorate, to ensure there is sufficient information about the complaint, and to ensure that the complainant wishes to proceed. If not, then these concerns are revoked. In 2023/24 we revoked 22% of complaints received, a decrease from 23% in 2022/23.
Any complaints raised which suggest an adult or child is at risk of harm are immediately reported to the appropriate body. Any information that suggests a crime has been committed is immediately referred to Police Scotland.
A total of 4,467 complaints were resolved using the Care Inspectorate’s four resolution pathways:
- In 50% of these, the information given by the complainant was provided to the inspector for that service to be used to inform and focus future scrutiny activity
- 18% were resolved quickly by the service directly
- 11% were investigated by the service using their own complaints procedure where the regulator required the provider to investigate
- 20% were deemed high risk and were investigated by the Care Inspectorate.
The Care Inspectorate upheld 73% of the complaints where it conducted an investigation in 2023/24.
Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “Complaints give a valuable insight into how services are caring for the thousands of people who experience them every day. We realise that, for many people, making a complaint to us can be a big step and indicates that there is something not right that really matters to them.
“We look carefully at all the information we receive from all complaints and decide the best way to proceed. Where we do investigate formally, the purpose is not just to establish the facts and determine whether the care provided was good enough, but also to seek to improve the quality of care provided for the person making the complaint and other people experiencing care.
“A key part of our role is to work with services and providers collaboratively to support improvement. It is essential that our investigations lead to meaningful change and improvements that provide positive outcomes for people experiencing care.
“Anyone with a complaint about a care service can contact us on 0345 600 9527.”
The full report can be read here.
Photo by Adam Wilson on Unsplash
