Agenda item

To receive and note report from Deborah Fowler, Chair of Enfield Healthwatch, concerning the adoption of a recognised approach to complaints-handling. 

The Board received a report from Healthwatch concerning the adoption of a recognised approach to complaints-handling. 

1.            Presentation of the Report

1.1      Deborah Fowler, Chair of Healthwatch, presented the report to the board highlighting the following: 

·         A learning organisation is a listening organisation.  Well run organisations welcome feedback and complaints. 

·         The Care Quality Commission has recognised the importance of listening to people and has adopted a new framework for complaints handling in “Complaints Matter”. 

·         Healthwatch would like the Health and Wellbeing Board and its members to sign up to the scheme, to endorse a focus on improving the ease with which people can raise complaints, to encourage local organisations to move towards implementation of the new complaints framework and to incorporate it into service contracts.   

1.2      Nicholas Foster, Complaints Manager, Health, Housing and Adult Social Care, reported that he had been involved with the development of the user led vision which the local authority had already adopted in part.  A piece of work had been undertaken to make sure that they would be fully compliant and to establish assurance looking at the 5 parts of the complaints journey, working out what systems and processes needed to be put in place.    Social Care already uses an on line complaints form, which could be expanded for use across the authority.

2.         Questions/Comments

2.1       GPs were unaware of the new framework. It was recommended that this was a framework for all, and they as well as other health and social care organisations, should be made aware of it and encouraged to sign up. 

2.2       The Council’s Social Care Annual Report outlines the lessons learned over the year.

2.3       A further report would be made to the Board later in the year to enable it to monitor progress in implementing the framework.

AGREED

1.1       To note the user-led complaints framework published jointly by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), Healthwatch England and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and adopted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for use in its inspection regime.

1.2       To ask commissioners from the CCG, NHS England and local authority to consider adopting the new complaints framework, as appropriate, in their provider contract specifications relating at least to health and social care, to achieve a consistent approach across Enfield;

1.3       To ask that, in monitoring existing contracts, the CCG, NHS England and local authority commissioners are informed by the new complaints framework and encourage their providers to improve their existing complaints systems.

1.4       To note that NHS England has assured the LGO, Healthwatch England and PHSO that it will use the new user-led complaints framework as a performance management tool to be built into the NHS Outcomes Framework;.

1.5       To resolve that, as part of its role in promoting and reviewing integrated care arrangements, the HWB will consider and review how well the user experience of complaints-handling matches the expectations set out by the CQC.

1.6       To note that when reviewing complaints-handling in provider organisations, Healthwatch Enfield will adopt the user-led complaints framework.