National Care Service: Complaints - Co-design Partnership Programme report
This is a report from sessions Scottish Government held around the health and social care complaints process. These sessions were part of our Co-design Partnership Programme.
What we learned
People struggle to find and trust complaints information early.
We heard that people often find out how to complain too late. Information about rights and routes can be unclear, hard to find or inconsistent. This can leave people unsure whether they can complain, where to start, or what will happen next.
Other points around this included:
- information about complaints is often discovered only after issues have escalated
- differences in signposting across organisations can create confusion
- many people rely on informal advice or community support
- unclear information reduces confidence and delays resolution
Here are some of the things people said during our discussions:
“It feels like it needs to be some kind of catastrophic event to warrant a complaint.”
“It would be better if services got feedback more regularly so that they know if it’s a wee things that’s not right […] rather than waiting until something really bad happens.”
How we will use this
We have heard there is a need for clearer, more consistent information that helps people understand where to go and what to expect. We will work to improve how complaints information is presented and accessed. This will include exploring different approaches, including online, that make finding information about making complaints simpler.
Contact
Email: LEEP@gov.scot