BackActing Ombudsman, Professor Margaret Griffiths, has published the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales’s Annual Report, which was laid before the National Assembly for Wales on 18 June 2014. In her introduction to the report, Margaret Griffiths has drawn attention to the increase in the number of complaints to the office. Over a five year period, the office has seen a 117% increase in all contacts (that is, enquiries, public body complaints, and complaints about the conduct of members of local authorities) to the office. Whilst there has been a general rise in complaints about public bodies, the continuing increase in health complaints remains the key area of concern (up 11% on 2012/13, and up 146% over the period of the last five years).
However, Margaret Griffiths has also drawn attention to the increase in social services complaints seen over the past year (up 19% on 2012/13). Whilst the social services complaints received by the office are much lower in number than health complaints, Professor Griffiths has remarked that this is a trend that also needs to be closely watched in the future.
Professor Griffiths said:
“The rise in social services complaints is a matter of concern and suggests that service user discontent with social service provision is now beginning to manifest itself in a similar way to service users of health provision. As a result of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction has been extended so that complaints about privately funded social care can be investigated. In addition, the changes to the social services statutory complaints process means that all independent reviews of social care complaints will from the autumn be undertaken by the Ombudsman’s office (as a result of the independent review panel stage being removed). It will be important that any further increases in the number of social care complaints to the office are not automatically assumed to be merely as a result of these changes.”
The full report is available on the Ombudsman’s website: www.ombudsman-wales.org.uk and on the IOI website.
Source: Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, United Kingdom
