To review the report.

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care introduced the item by explaining the report covered all complaints received in 2016/17 under the statutory complaints procedures for adults and children’s care, as well as the formal procedure for corporate complaints. She informed Members that complaints were taken very seriously by the Council, and the policy enabled staff the opportunity to receive feedback from customers and learn lessons as a result.

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care outlined the large number of interactions that adult social care staff had with customers to contextualise the complaints that were received. Members were informed that there were around 1,700 adults in the Royal Borough receiving long term care and support and 1,800 concerns and enquiries about safeguarding were received. There were 484 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding assessments carried out.

Members were informed that the complaints procedure had changed during the course of the time period referred to in the report, and the complaints process now consisted of only one stage. Members were informed that the Council aimed to resolve complaints within ten days, and the Complaints Team would liaise with a complainant if there were delays to their case. It was also explained that a complainant could escalate their complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman for further investigation. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that a total of 12 complaints were investigated by the LGO, and that two of them related to adult and social care services. Of those, one was upheld and the other was not.

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that the Council received a total of 802 complaints in 2016/17. Of these, 42 related to adult and social care; around five per cent of the overall total. Members were informed this represented a reduction from 44 from the previous year. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that 20 complaints related to the largest team, which handled interactions with older people and those with physical disabilities, and four related to finance. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that these two teams had the largest number of interactions with customers. Of the 42 complaints relating to adult and social care, seven related to the attitude/behaviour of staff. Members were informed that 60 per cent of complaints were made by the service user.

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that 71 per cent of complainants who made a complaint relating to adult and social care received a response within the agreed target timeframe of ten days, compared to 62 per cent the previous year. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care said those falling outside the timeframe often involved complex issues that required further investigation.

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care said that focus groups had been held on certain topic areas as a way of learning lessons and making improvements. A need to improve communication between staff and customers had been identified. Staff had also received additional training regarding data protection regulations, particularly in relation to younger people.

The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care informed Members that 35 compliments on staff performance had been received, which was a reduction compared to the previous year. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care stated her belief that more compliments had been made, but some of these may have been verbal and not subsequently recorded. Members were informed that it was felt there was a general underreporting of compliments.

Cllr Hollingsworth asked about the system of informing customers of the progress of their case at appropriate times. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care said there was a tracker system which is monitored and reviewed each week at Team Manager Level; if a case had gone past the ten day timeframe, the Team Manager would raise the matter with the relevant member of staff. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care also stated that it was accepted that identifying appropriate times when a customer could be contacted and provided with an update on their case was a priority.

Cllr Diment said the report was very useful and that she was pleased to see the number of compliments that officers had received. She said that the process for submitting compliments should be publicised more widely amongst members of the public. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care said she would feed that back to the report author.

The Vice Chairman asked if it was felt some customers had unrealistic expectations of the services they were using. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care stated that in certain cases customers thought that adult social care could deliver more than it does. It was felt that the best way of informing customers about the services that were provided  was to meet with the customer and explain what had been agreed about their care programme and what could be delivered. Additional training had been given to frontline staff to aid this process.

Cllr Diment asked how the Council compared to other Local Authorities with regards to complaints. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care said it would be possible to do a comparison as it was a legal requirement for all councils to produce a report on complaints. It was agreed that a comparison report with other councils in Berkshire would be produced for a future meeting.

The Chairman asked if the number of complaints received was due to the systems enabling customers to make a complaint being improved. He also asked if it would be possible to make it easier for a compliment to be made at the point of contact with the member of Council staff. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care admitted that the Council needed to be more proactive in this respect, and that work was taking place to make it easier for compliments to be submitted.

Cllr Hollingsworth asked if processes were in place to inform customers about what other services were available if the Council was not in a position to help. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care explained that social prescribers attached to GP surgeries had recently been employed in the area, who would be able to liaise with care groups and find a solution for customers. Members were reminded that the Council also worked closely with the CCG and the volunteer sector to provide solutions.

Cllr Hollingsworth asked if customers would be assigned a social worker from the start of their interaction with the Council. The Deputy Director of Health and Adult Social Care confirmed that this was the case after a recent change in policy.

It was confirmed that the Council only had to provide reports on complaints received in relation to children’s and adults services, but the report went further than this as a matter of good practice.