Dumfries and Galloway NHS Board refusing to deal with complaints under the NHS Complaints Procedure.

Caroline Airley made this Freedom of Information request to Scottish Public Services Ombudsman This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was successful.

Dear Scottish Public Services Ombudsman,

Having read some earlier requests made to you it is clear this is a problem that has been raised previously. Complaints made to Dumfries and Galloway NHS Board under the NHS Complaints Procedure are not being addressed by this body. They refuse to comply with the NHS Complaints Procedure repeatedly. The result is that it is impossible to pursue complaints with the SPSO. The information requested is as follows:

1) Has this matter been raised with you at any time in the last 10 years?

2) How can people with serious, legitimate, complaints proceed in these circumstances?

3) How many people have contacted you about this in the past 5 years?

4) Given this is a body which has no regard for patient safety, it is in the public interest for this to be remedied. Can the SPSO provide information on the policy in this type of situation?

Yours faithfully,

Caroline Airley

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

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Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

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Dear Ms Airley

I refer to your email of 17 March 2021. In your correspondence you ask:

1) Whether the matter of Dumfries and Galloway NHS Board failing to
address complaints made under the NHS Complaint Procedure been raised with
the SPSO at any time in the last 10 years.
2) How people with complaints can proceed in these circumstances.
3) How many people have contacted the SPSO about this issue in the past 5
years.
4) For information on the policy in this type of situation.

We will be dealing with your request in line with the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002, which provides a right to request access
to information we hold. The Act states that we must reply to you within 20
working days of us receiving your request. This means we will reply to you
by 16 April 2021 at the latest. We will, of course, reply sooner if we are
able to do so.

If you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact
us.

Yours sincerely

Ruth Yates
Corporate Services Team Assistant

Telephone: 01312430981
Email: [email address]

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
Bridgeside House, 99 McDonald Road, Edinburgh EH7 4NS

We also have a Freepost address: FREEPOST SPSO

Please note that due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), there may be some
delays in my timescales for responding to your email.  As an organisation
the SPSO is striving to continue to provide our services but the current
circumstances are also likely to impact on the timescales for delivering
these.

For the latest information on the possible impact of Coronavirus
(COVID-19) on the work of the SPSO, please go to: 
[1]https://www.spso.org.uk/news-and-media/c...
 
Thank you for your patience as we adapt to the changing situation.

 

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Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

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Dear Ms Airley

Your request for information

I refer to your email of 17 March 2021. In your correspondence you ask:

 1. Whether the matter of Dumfries and Galloway NHS Board failing to
address complaints made under the NHS Complaint Procedure been raised
with the SPSO at any time in the last 10 years.
 2. How people with complaints can proceed in these circumstances.
 3. How many people have contacted the SPSO about this issue in the past 5
years.
 4. For information on the policy in this type of situation.

Your request has been processed in line with the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and I can now respond as follows:

 1. We do not record specific statistics on authorities’ failure to
respond to complaints. We do however publish statistics on complaints
received organised by subject of complaint and by authority, which are
available on our website at [1]Statistics | SPSO.
 2. If an organisation refuses to deal with a person’s complaint, the
person can contact the SPSO directly. The SPSO can then contact the
organisation to find out more, or provide further advice to the
complainant.
 3. See point 1 above.
 4. If after investigating a complaint the SPSO finds failings, we can
make recommendations to the relevant organisation to put things right.
At present, the SPSO does not have the power to conduct 'own
initiative' investigations. If we did find out through our
investigations that an organisation was refusing to deal with
complaints, we would engage with the organisation and make
recommendations as necessary.

Your Right to Request a Review and of Appeal

You have a right under FOISA to request a review of any part of this
decision, or of the handling of your request, and of appeal to the
Scottish Information Commissioner if you remain dissatisfied.  Details
about requesting a review and appealing to the Commissioner are set out on
page 3 of the enclosed information leaflet 'Your Information Rights &
SPSO'.

Yours sincerely

Ruth Yates

 

Corporate Services Team Assistant | Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

 

SPSO, Bridgeside House, 99 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4NS

DD: 0131 243 0981 | Tel: 0800 377 7330 | [2]http://www.spso.org.uk

 

[3]http://spso-sharepoint/comms/Design/2018...

Correspondence with the SPSO may contain personal and sensitive personal
data and information that is confidential and should be kept private.  If
you want to know more about how we handle your own personal information,
you can read our Privacy Notice on our website at
[4]https://www.spso.org.uk/privacy-notice-a... or ask us for a
copy.  Please note:  Email security cannot always be guaranteed.  If you
choose this method of contact, you are confirming that you accept that
risk.

Please note that due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), there may be some
delays in my timescales for responding to your email.  As an organisation
the SPSO is striving to continue to provide our services but the current
circumstances are also likely to impact on the timescales for delivering
these.

For the latest information on the possible impact of Coronavirus
(COVID-19) on the work of the SPSO, please go to: 
[5]https://www.spso.org.uk/news-and-media/c...

 

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