CAB to be first stop in making complaints about NHS

PRESS RELEASE

Many Scots still struggle to voice concerns or complaints about the NHS treatment they have received, warns a report that will debated today  at a major health conference.

The event in Edinburgh will be addressed by Health Minister Shona Robison.  It will also launch a new partnership between the country’s 14 health boards and the Citizens Advice Bureaux service that will see local bureaux help people take forward any complaints they have about their healthcare.

This can include treatment from GPs, hospitals, dentists and even NHS-funded private healthcare.

The move will open up a whole new dimension to the work of bureaux, which traditionally offer free, independent advice to the public on anything from personal debt to consumer rights.

While bureaux won’t adjudicate in any concerns brought forward, they will guide people through the NHS complaints process and help them engage with the system on level terms.

“A trained CAB worker will first check whether any rules or standards have been breached, advise on what options are available to redress the situation, and go onto to represent and support clients where necessary,” explained Kaliani Lyle, chief executive of umbrella body Citizens Advice Scotland.

The report, commissioned by the Scottish Health Council and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, backs the move.

Professor Alice Brown, the Ombudsman, said: "The research has validated our sense that there are people who are unhappy with the health care they receive, but who nonetheless do not complain.  The report identifies barriers to complaining often experienced by different members of the public.  It also makes recommendations about how these barriers can be overcome.  I believe that this initiative will provide skilled support for people who wish to make a complaint.  As the Office that represents the 'last resort' for complainants, I whole-heartedly welcome the launch of the service."

The report looked at the experiences of people who have complained about the NHS in Scotland since April 2005 and those who chose not to.  While the vast majority of patients express high levels of satisfaction with the service they receive, it says, “the level of formal complaints made is likely to be an underestimate of the true level of dissatisfaction”,

Waiting times, delays, inconsistency in the medical staff seen, and staff behaviour are among the main causes of dissatisfaction.

Most people are unsure how to complain, the report concludes.  “Evidence suggests that there is a need for a range of advice and support services to be made available to those who want to complain.  For the more confident, good written information and advice is likely to be sufficient; for others the new service to be developed by CAB may be appropriate.

“However for many potentially excluded populations there is a reluctance to complain and the availability of quite intense advocacy support and adequate translation services in making a complaint to the NHS is critical.  The emphasis on ‘putting things in writing’ is a barrier to some. This again confirms the need for intense advocacy services in such cases.”

Ms Lyle said that Citizens Advice Bureaux were well-placed to provide this service.  “Bureaux already advise people on what their rights are and how they can pursue them in areas such as employment and benefits, and represent them at tribunals.  So as a service we have a lot of experience in helping people navigate often complex and bureaucratic systems.

“And people affected by illness or injury often also need advice on issues such as sickness and disability benefits, how to manage debts and mortgages if no longer working, and what their employment rights are.

“But health-workers just haven’t got the time to become knowledgeable about the complex and changing legislation and regulations that govern these.  That’s the ‘health gap’ that bureaux can fill.  So that healthcare staff can concentrate on their patients’ health while bureaux help improve their personal circumstances.

“Because CAB works across the whole picture, we can make that vital link between different problems.  Good advice is the missing piece in the healthcare jigsaw.”

Scottish Health Council director Richard Norris said: “In the past, making a complaint about NHS services could be a daunting process but the support being made available by the Citizens Advice Bureaux is good news for patients, carers and the public.

“Complaints have an important role, not only giving people an opportunity to raise concerns, but also in helping health boards to bring about improvements to services. The Scottish Health Council welcomes this new approach and will be monitoring it closely to ensure that it genuinely gives patients a real say in health services.”

On Wednesday evening, Christine Grahame MSP, convener of the health committee, will host a reception in Holyrood to promote the new service to MSPs.

Notes for News Editors

1. Each CAB is an independent charity, run by a committee of local people, and responsible for raising its own funding.  80 per cent of CAB workers are trained volunteers
2. The first bureaux in Scotland were established in 1939 as a wartime information service.  There are now 76 CAB offices across Scotland, which form the country’s largest independent advice network.
3. Consumer debt is now the single biggest issue that CABx deal with.  Last year, CABx in Scotland dealt with debt totalling £211m.
4. Images and logos of the CAB service are available from the CAS press and communications officer (see contact above).
5. The SPSO is a free and independent service that deals with complaints about most organisations providing public services in Scotland, including the NHS.  For advice and information call freephone 0800 377 7330 or visit www.spso.org.uk.
6. In 2006-07, the SPSO received 497 complaints about the health sector, an increase of 4.2% over the previous year when they received 477 complaints.