Contact: Irene Unwin ext: 7256.

1 Introduction

1.1 It is a requirement of both the Children Act (1989) and the National Health Service and Community Care Act (1990) that the social services department produce an annual report of the operation of the complaints procedure and present to the relevant committee.

1.2 The attached report has been prepared following the statistically based report presented to the Committee in July 2004 and at the request of that committee.. This additional reports considers the wider functioning of the Complaints and Customer Care Service.

1.3 The operation of the Complaints Procedure supports Aim 5 of the Corporate Strategy by improving services.

2 Recommendations:

2.1 That committee accepts this report.

2.2 That committee notes the proposed changes to social services complaints procedures.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The Following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt of confidential information as defined in the Act.

None

The Annual Report of the Complaints and Customer Care Service

2003 - 2004

Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Complaints and Customer Care Process

3. Independent Persons

4. Social Services Staff

5. Other Procedures

6. Statistics

7. Outcomes and Learning

8. Other Aspects of the Service

9. Discussion and Conclusion

3 Introduction

The National Health Service and Community Care Act (1990) and the Children Act (1989) require social services departments to produce an annual report of the operation of the complaints procedure The Department of Health guidelines for this report state that the report should include a summary of statistical information and a review of the effectiveness of the procedure, to be presented to the relevant Members Committee of the County Council.

A brief report, incorporating the statistical data was presented to the Social Care Policy Review Committee in September 2004. This report presents a more in-depth analysis of that information, looks at the wider operation of the complaints procedure and considers significant changes which will be made to the procedure from April 2005.

The customers of the operational part of the service are service users. However, the service also supports staff, not only in dealing with complaints but by managing both the department's response to violence and abuse to staff and `Speak Out', the process by which staff can report bad practice. Finally the service has a responsibility for co-ordinating the investigation of untoward incidents across the department and ensuring that investigations are completed in a timely and appropriate way and that recommendations are followed through.

This range of activities means that the Complaints and Customer Care Service is uniquely placed to collect a wide range of information about when services may not have met the expectations of service users or the standards required by the department and to use this information to improve the quality of services.

Many complaints and expressions of concern reflect that people did not receive the service they expected, either because it was not of a good standard or, as is shown in some situations upon investigation, that the expectations themselves were unreasonable or unrealistic. However, the service is sent many compliments about the work of the department, often from people who are delighted by the service received and whose expectations have been exceeded.

4 The Complaints and Customer Care Process

All service users and people caring for those using our services should know how to voice a compliment, complaint or concern. A leaflet called `So What do you Think?' should be given to all people who have had contact with departmental services and is widely available in local offices, residential and day care services and Information Centres. The information available does not give full information about the formal procedure, but does advise people to contact the complaints officer if not satisfied with the initial response.

In addition information is available on the HantsWeb and people can contact the service by using an On-line Form. Over the year there was an increased use of the on-line form with over 60 complaints being raised in this way. On occasion these were duplications of complaints made by completion of the comments form or made by telephone.

The wide availability of information about how to contact the Complaints and Customer Care Service means that people use the telephone number given not only to make complaints but also to seek help or advice. Such requests may also be received by letter or using the comments form. Whenever possible such requests will be dealt with promptly, either by advising the person of action they can take, signposting to the appropriate service and on occasion make a referral to our own services for additional help.

A key element in dealing with referrals to the complaints and customer care office is establishing what outcome the complainant or concerned person is seeking. For example, when a respite unit had to cancel, at the very last minute a number of bookings, owing to a problem with staffing, a number of calls were made to the complaints and customer care office complaining about the cancellations. The callers were seeking different outcomes from their calls including an acknowledgement of the inconvenience and stress that had been caused, an assurance that senior managers were aware of what had happened and a reassurance that the situation could not occur gain. To respond to all the calls in a standard way would have exacerbated an already difficult situation and not have led to resolution for anyone.

The resolution of a complaint or concern will need the complaints and customer care service to seek further information, the contact is logged and a file opened. The file will remain open until the matter is resolved. What happens next will be guided to a large extent by what outcome the person making the contact is looking for. If it is a relatively straightforward matter it may be dealt with straightaway. Matters which are more complex and will require further investigation to resolve are acknowledged and will be forwarded to the appropriate manager to prepare a response, or in some situations agreement will be reached that the complaints and customer care service will deal with the matter. Sometimes a combination of both immediate action and a more detailed response are needed.

Some of the matters brought to the attention of the Complaints and Customer Care Service are most appropriately dealt with using creative problem solving techniques, either at Headquarters or locally. `Complaints' can be `problems' in a different guise and can be resolved by resolving the problem. For example, if a person calls to complain that their care manager is on leave and they can not get any help, it is relatively straightforward to ask another person from the appropriate team to contact the caller. Other solutions may be a little more complex and involve a degree of mediation. For example, it may be better to arrange for a re-assessment of a person's needs than to become engaged in a protracted discussion about the outcomes of an initial assessment.

There are complaints where mistakes have clearly been made and staff are encouraged to acknowledge these, with an apology and do what they can to put the matter right. The Local Government Ombudsman refers to the importance of `putting the complainant back to the position of where they were before the mistake was made' as a remedy for complaints. This is not always possible because of the individual circumstances, but is useful guidance when considering how to resolve the complaint. As a simple example, there was agreement to arrange and pay for the cleaning of a carpet when a faulty chair leaked oil.

Complaints also arise through miscommunication or because of false expectations and no-one is at fault. People using our services often do so at a particularly stressful time in their lives and we should therefore anticipate that things which have been said are misheard or forgotten. When this does occur staff are encouraged to acknowledge that there has been a misunderstanding and apologise for the upset caused, at the same time as clarifying the situation in writing.

There are situations where face to face contact is the best way of resolving a complaint. Conciliation is particularly effective when a complainant becomes entrenched in a particular view point and staff hold an opposing view. If necessary, either an Independent Person or one of the Complaints and Customer Care staff can facilitate such a meeting or in some instances a series of meetings.

In exceptional circumstances an `internal investigation' may be requested if a complaint is either of a serious nature or about events which happened some time ago. The matter will be drawn to the attention of the appropriate county manager and assistant director with the request that they commission an investigation, both to establish the facts and make recommendations for any remedial action. In 2003 an investigation was commissioned by the County Manager for Children and Families following a complaint from a foster carer. This was not an investigation into the substance of the complaint, but rather the circumstances of the placement which gave significant cause for concern. Additionally the complaints and customer care service appointed and funded an advocate for the child concerned as it is difficult to ascertain her wishes and views on what was effectively a dispute between the department and her carers about what was in her best interests.

If a complaint cannot be resolved informally complainants have the right to take their complaint further. If they are `qualifying persons' under the relevant legislation (e.g. a service user or a parent/carer) they can request that the matter be investigated by an Independent Person under Stage 2 of the complaints procedure. The Independent Person will see the complainant, relevant staff and files as necessary before preparing a report. The initial meeting between the complainant and the Independent Person is important in that it is the complainant's opportunity to state clearly the complaints which are to be investigated and, as importantly, to state what outcomes they are looking for. This gives the Independent Person not only a framework for the investigation itself but a basis upon which to make recommendations which will help to resolve the complaint. There is an element of negotiation in this process and it may be necessary for the Independent Person to visit the complainant more than once.

The complaints officers will receive a draft copy of the report and carry out an initial `checking' to ensure that the conclusions are reasonable and based on a demonstrable evaluation of the evidence, and that any recommendations are realistic. All the parties concerned then have an opportunity to comment on the draft report before the Independent Person submits a final report which will state whether or not the complaints have been upheld and if appropriate, make recommendations. Any recommendations would be considered seriously by the Department but are not binding. They are responded to by the appropriate County Manager who will identify what actions will be taken following the investigation.

If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation they have the right to be heard by a Review Panel. The panel comprises of three people, one of whom may be an elected Member. The panel must be chaired by an Independent Person. The complainant attends the panel meeting and explains to the panel the causes of concern. The panel will then interview the staff involved and the Independent person who completed the investigation before preparing a report of their findings and making appropriate recommendations. The report and recommendations will be responded to by the Director.

If not satisfied with the outcome of the panel, the complainant may take the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman, who will decide on the basis of information from the department and the County Council whether or not to further investigate the complaint.

There are some people who wish to pursue a complaint who do not qualify for the social services procedure, for example, providers of services. In this instance the matter may be referred to the corporate complaints procedure. After the matter has been investigated through the corporate procedure the complainant may proceed to the Local Government Ombudsman. The role of the Local Government Ombudsman is to decide whether mal-administration has occurred, not to re-investigate the complaints.

5 Independent Persons

The Complaints and Customer Care Service maintains a panel of Independent Persons who can be called upon to carry out the formal investigation of complaints and to sit on or chair review panels.

In recent years the annual report has described a further role for Independent Persons, that of conciliators or mediators. This role has continued and Independent Persons have successfully acted as conciliators with regard to both the informal and formal complaints procedure.

The work undertaken by Independent Persons has continued to become more diverse, including carrying out investigations not related to the formal complaints procedure, and investigating personnel related matters.

Additionally, Independent Persons have been called upon to act in an advocacy role. This may occur when it is unclear that the complainant is representing the views of the service user (see 2.10). An Independent Person also acted as `advocate' for a frail, elderly woman who felt that her views were not being listened to regarding the care of her daughter, who has learning difficulties.

Many of the Independent Persons who carry out work for Hampshire SSD's Complaints and Customer Care Service also carry out the similar work for Southampton and Portsmouth. There is regular liaison and information sharing between the three departments with regard to Independent Persons and an informal agreement that we adopt the same remuneration conditions.

If a complaint reaches the formal investigation stage it is likely to be very complex or emotionally charged. The work of Independent Persons in carrying out formal complaints investigations is to a very high standard. All reports are required to state clearly the specific complaints and desired outcomes, make a judgement on whether or not each complaint is upheld based on an evaluation of the evidence and if appropriate make reasonable recommendations based on the findings and complainants desired outcomes. It is a tribute to the work of the Independent Persons that very few complainants raise issues with the investigation or wish to proceed to the review panel stage.

6 Social Services Staff

The Complaints and Customer Care Service works with departmental staff in a number of different ways with regard to complaints:

¬ To request and monitor responses to complaints and recommendations from investigations and review panels.

¬ To train and advise staff in complaints handling and resolution

¬ To support staff who have been the subject of complaints.

The level of contact between operartional staff has been sustained and possibly even increased over the last year. There is a preception in the complaints and customer care service that operational staff are more willing to engage with the team in resolving complaints and a much wider acceptance that complaints can and should be addressed informally and as quickly as possible.

There is a continued willingness on the part of operational staff to seek the advice and support of the Complaints and Customer Care office to resolve complaints. This can range from asking advice about how to manage a specific complaint to requesting a strategy meeting to agree how to manage a complex or difficult complaint where dealing with the complaint or series of complaints is impeding the ability of staff to get on with their caring tasks. In such instances the complaints and customer care team will usually offer to `take over' the complaints element and work directly with the complainant.

One of the factors which has strongly affected the relationship between the complaints and customer care service and operational staff is the major shift away from a `blame culture'. Individual staff do make mistakes and these are usually quickly acknowledged and remedial action taken both with regard to the service to the complainant and if necessary with regard to the supervision and training of the staff member. However, staff who have acted correctly can become the subject of the complaint because they are the known representative of the department. In such situations the direct worker needs support from their line manager, both directly and in way the complaint is managed.

For the Complaints and Customer Care Service to be effective in resolving complaints it is important that other staff are aware of their role and also have training and support available to aid effective local complaints handling.

Information about the complaints procedure is in all staff induction programmes. For staff who regularly deal with complaints as part of their work there is a half day course on `Complaints Awareness' which is part of the department's training calendar. The objectives of this course are to make staff aware of the complaints procedure in more detail and to identify and practice ways of dealing with complaints which will increase the likelihood of the complaint being resolved promptly and effectively. Last year four half day courses were given, facilitated by the Complaints and Customer Care Officers.

Two whole day courses were also given on `Effective Complaints Handling'. This course looks in greater detail at how to manage complaints, particularly through the use of conciliation. The course is aimed at people who may be required to resolve complaints as part of their practice and is fully participative. `Real' examples are given for people to consider and work through to resolution, allowing participants to practice conciliation skills.

No two courses are exactly the same as the courses use examples relevant to the work of the participants. An important message given on both courses is that many of the skills necessary to resolve complaints successfully are those which people use every day in social care practice, such as listening, problem solving and negotiation skills. Over the year both types of course received very positive feedback through the course evaluation forms.

As the number of complaints going through the formal procedure has reduced, so has the need to support staff through this process. The one review panel that was held was attended by senior managers as this was considered appropriate owing to the nature of the complaint.

7 Other Procedures

Whilst attempts will be made to resolve all complaints informally, not all complainants qualify to use the formal stages of the social services' complaints procedure. People who are providing a service to the department and whose complaint can not be resolved informally, for example, will be referred to the corporate complaints procedure.

There are also complaints which can not be addressed through the formal procedure and which have to be addressed through another procedure, such as complaints about Child Protection Conferences which have to be dealt with through the Area Child Protection Complaints Procedure.

One area of complaint which can not be addressed through either the formal or informal procedure is when the matter is before the court. If the complaint is about legal action being taken by the department the complaints can not be considered. The defining question in deciding whether or not to consider such complaints is `Will the complainant have or have had the opportunity to make a challenge in court?' If the answer is `yes' then the complaint can not be considered. If the answer is `no' and the court proceedings have been completed the complaint can be considered. If the court proceedings have not been completed the complaint can be `put on hold' until proceedings have been finished.

There is a separate procedure for complaints and allegations against foster carers. However, if the matter is a `complaint' the two processes are identical and interchangeable. If however the `complaint' is treated as an allegation against the foster carer this will be dealt with through the foster care procedure.

It can be very difficult to discern whether or not complaints about financial matters can be addressed through the formal complaints procedure. If the matter can not be resolved informally it is usual practice to consult with the county council's legal department. The defining question which is applied is whether or not it is reasonable to ask an Independent Person to make a judgement based on interpretation of the law.

Although not strictly an alternative procedure, the Local Government Ombudsman will contact either the Chief Executive's office or the complaints office direct to seek information about a received complaint. This would not necessarily be a complaint which had come to the attention of the Complaints and Customer Care Service. It has now become the usual practice of the LGO to discuss whether or not it is appropriate before referring anyone back to the formal complaints procedure. This has been welcomed, as in the past matters have been referred back which are not appropriate, leading to false expectations on the part of the complainant.

Finally, it is not considered appropriate to use the complaints procedure if the complainant is clearly stating that he or she is seeking significant compensation as their desired outcome. Such complaints are rare but if they occur the complainant is advised to seek legal advice or the matter is referred to the Chief Executive's office.

If, however, the complainant is seeking recompense for a small amount and has clearly suffered a loss, a payment would normally be agreed. The amount would be based on the principle used by the Local Government Ombudsman in deciding compensation, namely a calculation of how much it would cost to put the complainant back in the same position as before the loss was incurred.

8 Statistics

In the year from April 2003 to March 2004 there were 539 enquiries received at headquarters, this compares to 474 received for the same period the previous year and is an increase of 13.7%. (See Table 1below) Of those received over the year 507 were complaints, or expressions of dissatisfaction with the service received, an increase of 18.5% from the 428 complaints received at headquarters the previous year.

Table 2 (below) shows the number of complaints relating to each client group. There was a 23% increase in complaints relating to Children and Families, with no obvious trend regarding the type of complaint. There was an increase in complaints relating to Older People of 19%. The decrease in the number of complaints from the Mental Health Sector is almost certainly attributable to Health and Social Service Partnership which came into effect in April 2003.

These complaints need to be seen in the context of the volume of work carried out by the department. 225 enquiries related to Children and Families. The department has over 3,300 `open cases' relating to Children and Families at any one time, which includes approximately 400 children on the Child Protection Register and over 1,000 children looked after. In services for adults and older people nearly 53,000 assessments were carried out in the year 2003-4, therefore number of complaints received suggests a very low level of dissatisfaction.

The changes in the relationship between the person making the complaint and the service user are given in Table 3, below. There has been a continued increase in the number of self-referrals, with children and families increasing from 33 last year to 39 this year and learning disability increasing from 6 to 13. Caution has to be taken in considering the self-referral figures for Children and Families as a number of complaints were made by adults about the time when they were involved with the department and should not be interpreted as all relating to complaints from current service users.

Last year an increase in the number of complaints from Members and M.P's was noted. This percentage figure has reduced but not to the 2001-2002 figure of 16%. One fifth of complaints dealt with through HQ come from Members or M.P.s

There were 3 complaints that could not be resolved informally and for which formal investigations were held. (See Table 4 over) This is a reduction of 5 from the previous year's total of 8. Therefore 99.4% of complaints were resolved informally. This is the smallest number of formal complaints since the procedures were introduced in 1990 and is a direct result of the efforts made across the department to resolve complaints quickly and the use of conciliation.

A further complaint, from two foster carers was subject to an Independent Investigation, but outside of the formal procedure.

Two review Panels were held, both relating to complaints made in the previous year.

There were no racial incidents recorded.

91.6% of complaints have been acknowledged within 5 working days. A small number of complaints can not be acknowledged as the source is unknown. Of the remainder either a full response has been made within ten days or the complaint has been received in the department on a certain date but has not been forwarded to the complaints office for several days.

The percentage of complaints fully responded to within 28 days has risen from 75% to 84% this year. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that responses are within the 28 day period this may not be possible for a number of reasons, such as the time it may take to collect all the information particularly where the complaint is complex and spans services, or the absence through illness or holidays of key personnel. When it is not possible to respond fully within the time period the complainant will be informed of the delay and the reasons for it.

Costs

There are two budgets to cover the costs of the operation of the complaints procedure. The first is used primarily for paying the costs of Independent Persons and holding Review Panels and the second is a compensation budget.

The three investigations cost £3246, £2005 and £1654. These costs are significantly higher than in previous years, the lowest being very similar to the highest in the previous year. However, the first complaint investigated had 36 elements and by its nature demanded a thorough and evidence based investigation, particularly as part of the complaint was that a social work report had contained inaccuracies. The completed report was over a hundred pages long. The second report required two Independent Persons for the complaint to be dealt with effectively and safely.

The Review Panels cost £1552 and £1072 each, similar figures to the previous year.

There was one payment made from the Compensation Budget which was for £70 to clean the carpet as mentioned in paragraph 2.7. A payment of £500 made the previous year was not accepted by the complainant and repaid into the budget. This is the subject of on-going proceedings.

9 Outcomes and Learning

The outcomes sought by complainants usually involve one or more of the following:

¬ An apology

¬ An acknowledgement that something went wrong.

¬ The matter put right

¬ An explanation of what has happened

¬ The same thing not to happen to anyone else

`Failure of communication' has been a long standing cause of dissatisfaction expressed in complaints. Analysis of complaints can help identify where communication needs to improve. This can be on the level of emphasising the importance of agreements or decisions being confirmed in writing to avoid misunderstandings, to identifying where there are gaps in the information available to service users which need filling. Attention, for example, had been drawn to the content of some communications which identify services which are available without full explanation of eligibility criteria or how those services are funded.

The examples given in last year's report of where expectations can not be met are still applicable, particularly in respect of services to children and families:

¬ That Social Services can accommodate children and young people who parents consider to be `out of control'.

¬ That Social Services will intervene in disputes between parents and enforce contact arrangements.

¬ That Social Services will provide respite care `on demand' rather than in response to an assessed need.

Additionally, however, there is an emerging `theme' that if a child has been diagnosed as having a disability then the family have a `right' to specific services. For example, the parents of a four year old child complained that social services had refused to provide respite care for their son, who had been diagnosed as autistic. They wanted the respite care as their son had very poor sleeping habits. Whilst this is understandable to some extent it was very difficult to engage with them to look at ways of resolving the problem, like using strategies to improve sleep patterns , because they had a view on what they were entitled to respite care as parents of a child with a disability.

Such complaints highlight the need to continue to try and effectively communicate the role of social services to both the general public and other agencies. This includes a need to communicate that social workers and care managers have themselves knowledge and skills and can offer advice on how to manage particular situations. Parents who regard their child as being `out of control' may dismiss the advice of the social worker because they have reached the point where they believe that only the removal of the child from their care will resolve the problems.

In direct contrast there are also complaints because social services have intervened when social services have become involved owing to indications of neglect or abuse and the families object as they believe there is no need for involvement.

Complaints about too much or too little intervention are not restricted to children and families services. A number of complaints in adult services, particularly for people with learning difficulties are about the level of service offered in response to the service users assessed needs which may not correspond with the parent or carer's view of what is needed.

A number of complaints were raised, particularly at the beginning of the year with regard to the introduction of the Fairer Charging Policy for non-residential care. Some of the complaints were about the actual policy but there was also a number of complaints about the implementation of the policy which gave cause for concern and for the Complaints and Customer Care Team to work with the Non Residential Contribution team in County Treasurers to instigate new guidelines for implementation, such as only backdating charges to the date of assessment. It was also agreed to offer those who felt unable to pay the assessed charges an opportunity for a re-assessment and for those who felt unable to pay accrued debts `very easy' payment terms. Priority was given to contacting care managers when a service user intimated that they would have to stop receiving services as they could not afford to pay.

The introduction of the Fairer Charging Policy is a good example of how difficult it can be to manage expectations. The initial letter sent to service users stated, quite correctly, that a number of service users being charged at the time would no longer have to pay. Although there was mention that some people would have to pay more understandably this was not part of the information that those receiving the letter remembered, particularly after a period of not paying charges at all. It is important that the lessons learnt from the implementation of the Fairer Charging Policy are remembered in similar situations in the future.

The investigations carried out this year indicate that whatever the commitment to early and satisfactory resolution of complaints, there will always be occasions when investigation is necessary and appropriate. As already indicated the first complaint investigated was exceedingly complex and was only part of a range of complaints made against the County Council, the Area Child Protection Committee and the police. The Complaints and Customer Care Manager and the local service manager did meet with the complainant to try and resolve the issues but it became evident that, in order for Child Protection proceedings to continue the complaints would have to be investigated formally.

The second investigation was also complex, but in a different way. The complainant was seeking a significant amount of compensation on behalf of his wife, who he considered had been placed under undue stress by the department. Following a risk assessment it was decided that two people should carry out an investigation as this was considered to be the quickest and most effective way to bring the complaint to a conclusion.

The third investigation also involved complex family dynamics, but in this situation the realisation that conciliation was not an option meant that investigation was necessary. This was partly because the service user was unnecessarily in hospital and plans for his discharge could not be made until the complaint was resolved, but there were also differences of opinion within the family regarding the best way to meet his needs.

Feedback from complaints is given in a number of different ways. From individual formal complaints the County Manager for the client group will be aware of the complaints and by responding to the recommendations of an investigation will have greater knowledge. The recommendation themselves may highlight learning and ways to improve practice. County Managers are also becoming involved in complex complaints at a much earlier stage and in some instances may take on responsibility for responding to the complainant. County Managers will also be alerted if an issue of concern arises, either on a number of unrelated occasions or if a matter of a serious nature occurs.

One of the complaints officers regularly attends the Lead Service Managers meeting and will draw to the attention of service managers matters of concern. This may be specifically related to the operation of the complaints procedure but may also relate to `themes' which have emerged or the sharing of good practice where positive intervention has resolved a complaint and the learning may be useful to others in a similar situation.

During the year the complaints and customer care manager did a presentation to Children and Families managers on feedback from complaints. This is now an integral part of a regular programme of information sharing, linked to learning from inquiries, investigations and complaints.

10 Other Aspects of the Service

Vexatious or Abusive Complainants

Previous reports have identified the impact of vexatious and abusive complainants on the service. It is therefore satisfying to be able to report that the various strategies adopted for dealing with vexatious and abusive complainants have been effective in reducing their impact on the service itself and across the department.

In addition to the effective strategies there is an increased awareness of the role the complaints and customer care service can play, which has led to us being involved more quickly than previously, which in itself makes the situation much easier to manage as a coherent strategy can be put in place very quickly.

Persistent and vexatious complainants will contact Members and the service has been active in being available to Members to explain situations and support them in their dealings with vexatious complainants.

Looked After Children

The Complaints and Customer Care Service continued to work closely with CAT (Care Action Team) over the last year and has regularly attended meetings and supported events. This has proved to be mutually beneficial with the service being able to offer practical support to the work of the team and also given the service the opportunity to `pick up' on issues affecting looked after children generally and support some individual children.

During the course of the year it was agreed that a Children's Participation Officer would be recruited to the team. The post holder would take on some of the work currently carried out by the complaints officers and would have a key role in ensuring that there are proper advocacy services in place for children looked after.

The service helped organise Event III, an activities day held at Calshot Activities Centre in December. Event III was held in conjunction with colleagues from Recreation Heritage and the aim was to give children and young people an opportunity to experience activities which they may like to take up as a hobby or interest. It was a very successful occasion enjoyed by over 50 children looked after. Whilst the aim of the event was to enable the young people to experience new activities it also provided an opportunity to hear some of the views of the participants and to consult about information given to children in foster care.

Prevention and Management of Violence

The Complaints and Customer Care Service has responsibility for the department's strategy for protecting staff from violence and abuse. Part of this responsibility is the monitoring of reported incidents of violence and abuse against staff. This monitoring involves identifying and following up situations which do not appear to have been managed well or where the subsequent action to prevent a reoccurrence is not clear.

April 2003-2004 was the first full year of a new form for reporting violent incidents in Children's Homes, linked to the `Team Teach' approach to physical restraint and the extensive training of residential staff.

There was a slight increase in reports from children's homes from the previous year but was anticipated following the introduction of the new reporting system. The form itself is used to report any incident involving the use of `restraint' in its broadest term and the incident itself may not have met the threshold for completing a violent incident report form under the former arrangements.

For other services there has been a downward trend in reporting over the last three years and can be attributed to a range of factors. The most significant reduction is in services for people with a learning disability, which is partly because of changes in how services are delivered and partly due to increased staff awareness and the effectiveness of training, such as in the use of SCIP¹, and support systems.

The use of risk assessments and risk management strategies are now accepted as good practice.

Internal Management Reviews

Mention has been made previously of the range of investigations that can arise from issues raised by complaints. The service also has a responsibility to co-ordinate and manage internal management reviews, including those which may be required by the Area Child Protection Committee.

In 2003-2004 there was only one major Internal Management Review and although the contents of the review itself did not highlight significant learning points, the process itself did and this learning will impact on the management of future reviews.

11 Discussion and Conclusions

This report has highlighted both the operation of the complaints procedure within the Social Services Department and the diverse information which is available to the Complaints and Customer Care Service.

Although the focus of the work of the service has continued to move towards an emphasis on customer care rather than just complaints management, there are objectives for the service which it has not been possible to achieve over the last year.

The Complaints Procedure has not been updated since 1997 and whilst an update to this procedure is overdue there is currently (January 2005) a major consultation exercise being completed involving the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills.

Due to come into effect from April 2005, the proposed changes include:

· The Review Panel stage of the formal procedure to be removed from local procedures. CSCI to become responsible for reviewing complaints if complainant not satisfied after Independent Investigation

· Timescale for informal resolution to be reduced from 20 working days to 10 working days.

· Greater emphasis on resolution at informal stage through `problem solving'.

· The Complaints Manager to be responsible for monitoring all complaints received by any member of staff.

· Complaints can only be considered if made within one year of event which led to complaint.

The department broadly welcomes the proposals regarding the Review Panel Stage. The emphasis on resolution at the informal stage through problem solving is also welcomed, although this has been built into the policy since 1999. In theory, the 10 working day response time is welcomed, as experience has shown time and time again that the more prompt the response the more likely the complaint is to be resolved. There is however, a concern that effective resolution at the informal stage can take significantly longer than ten days.

The proposed changes will impact on how the complaints and customer care service is managed, the systems which will be necessary to support the process and the type and extent of training to staff.

Significant changes have been made to the management of the complaints procedure over the last few years. The next year will present a challenge in ensuring that the service further adapts to meet the changes imposed nationally whilst still retaining the ability to respond effectively to complainants and provide a high standard of customer care.