National Care Service: Complaints - Co-design Partnership Programme report

Perceived risk and confidence influence whether people raise complaints.

We heard that whether people choose to complain can be influenced by their confidence in the process and their assessment of potential consequences. Concerns about outcomes, relationships with services, and previous experiences often inform decisions.

Other points around this included:

• some people are uncertain about how complaints will be received or handled
• previous experiences shape expectations about whether raising concerns will lead to change
• foster carers and unpaid carers had concerns about how complaints might affect support or relationships with employers or services they depend on
• time pressures and caring responsibilities can limit capacity to engage with complaints processes

Here are some of the things people said during our discussions:

“I worry about complaining affecting the support I get.”

“I’d be worried if I made a complaint would I be branded a troublemaker and would that affect the help we then got.”

“Worry that they might get put to the back of a list.”

How we will use this

We have heard there is a need for greater clarity, reassurance and transparency within the complaints system. We have developed the NCS Charter of Rights which sets out clear information about people’s rights when accessing social care, social work and community health support. The Charter includes information about how to make a complaint and the support available throughout this process. Building on this, our focus will now be on implementation – including raising awareness of the Charter and ensuring it is consistently used in practice to support people to understand what they can expect when raising a complaint.