Appropriate Systems to Manage Complaints

The request was partially successful.

Dear South West Strategic Health Authority,

I understand that you are responsible for ensuring that Trusts have in place appropriate systems to manage complaints.
Please provide me with copies of any policy, procedure or guidance notes dealing with this matter.
Please also inform me how you assess the appropriateness of the systems on an ongoing basis and whether or not you are charged with ensuring that the systems are effective. In this respect, please provide me with copies of all documents, including reports, board and committee minutes and statistics, relating to the monitoring and review by you of the systems in place at Weston Area Health NHS Trust. Please confine the information to the period November 2008 to March 2011 (inclusive).

As a layperson, and in the spirit of the FOIA, I look forward to receiving from you communication and guidance should any part of the above request be insufficiently specific or open to interpretation.

Yours faithfully,

Sally Holmes

Cramp Jonathan (NHS South West), South West Strategic Health Authority

Ms Holmes,

Thank you for your email of 10 April 2011. In compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, a response will be sent to you within 20 working days.

With regards,

Jonathan Cramp
FOI Manager
NHS South West

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Cramp Jonathan (NHS South West), South West Strategic Health Authority

2 Attachments

Ms Holmes,

I refer to your Freedom of Information request of 10 April 2011. In
compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the South West
Strategic Health Authority is able to respond to your request as follows.

Whilst the South West Strategic Health Authority has no formal role in
managing complaints, we do try to take a helpful approach. I attach a
copy of the Complaints Procedure of the South West Strategic Health
Authority, which relates to the process for complaints made about the
policy decisions, duties and functions of the South West Strategic Health
Authority. I refer you to section 8, page 8 `Complaints about Primary
Care Trusts and NHS Trusts: The Role of the Strategic Health Authority'.

The South West Strategic Health Authority has no formal role in
`assessing the appropriateness of complaint systems' or to `ensure that
systems are effective'. This is a matter for the responsible Primary Care
Trust and/or NHS Trust through their respective internal governance
arrangements and relevant external regulation processes.

However, the South West Strategic Health Authority has commissioned a
review in NHS South West in response to the Parliamentary and Health
Service Ombudsman's report "Listening and Learning: the Ombudsman's
review of complaint handling by the NHS in England 2009-2010' (copy
attached). Once concluded, a decision about recommendations, actions and
publication of the report will be made.

I trust that your request has been satisfactorily answered, but I should
be pleased to offer any further assistance that you may require. I should
advise that you have the right to complain about this response by
reference to the complaints procedure of the South West Strategic Health
Authority in which case you should write to the Chief Executive at NHS
South West, South West House, Blackbrook Park Avenue, Taunton, Somerset
TA1 2PX.

If you remain dissatisfied with the decision of the Authority following
your complaint, you may write to the Information Commissioner, whose
address is:

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF.

With regards,

Jonathan Cramp
FOI Manager

NHS South West

South West House

Blackbrook Park Avenue

Taunton

Somerset

TA1 2PX

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