Number of open complaints about PHSO at 1 December 2015

Service 52
Decision 408
Decision / Service 8
Total 468

Number of open complaints about PHSO at 19 June 2015

Service 43
Decision 541
Decision/Service 12
Total 596

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/2...

Number of open complaints about PHSO at 29 November 2014

Service 12
Decision 49
Decision/Service 4
Total 65

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/2...

That's a massive increase since 2014. This could be accounted for in one of two ways. a) more people are making complaints b) more complaints are being recognised and dealt with as complaints. PHSO are always reluctant to state how many complaints are received and will only give numbers for complaints investigated. I am pretty sure the difference between the received and the investigated is a significant one. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/t...

phsothefacts,

"b) more complaints are being recognised and dealt with as complaints."

I think this may be the case, but the figure for service complaints still seems very low. I have requested further information to find out how fast these complaints are being processed.

reviews in progress at 2 April 2013

Service complaints: 3
Decision complaints: 105
Complaints about both service and decision: 16

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

But here is a confusing statement by Steve Brown (Head of Risk and Assurance):

'I can confirm that in the Customer Care context a “contact” is the same as an “open complaint”.'

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/2...

Well interesting!
My complaint has been with PHSO (& 40+ case workers)since 2009......Never mind days thats YEARS!

SAR reveals case is closed and reopened under different ref!
Could this be why there appear to be 0 complaints in :
201-250 working days 0
251-300 working days 0
301-350 working days 0
351 or more working days 0
?????

Well done J. Roberts!

WELL DONE to anyone who had the balls and strength of character to try to progress a complaint withe PHSO!

Further questions;
I wonder how many of those complaints are legal actions that are "pending" against the PHSO?

One wonders how many of the complaints are repeat complaints due to the PHSO apparent stubbornness in reviewing NHS maladministration and clinical negligence?

Onwards and forwards!

I think you may both be on to something about the opening and closing of cases creating statistics that can easily mislead.

In another request I asked for information concerning figures showing an increase in the number of cases handled but a fall in the number of individuals making complaints.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

My thoughts were that either individual complainants were enumerating more complaints on their forms, or PHSO staff had become more adept at identifying separate complaints on each form. But a complaint that is closed is, I believe, not reopened. So, for example, a complainant whose complaint is closed because they did not respond to an email (which they did not receive) would have to make a 'new' complaint and and would become a fresh 'case' statistic.

You may find this of interest in your attempt to determine the number of service delivery complaints. It came from a recent FOI request to PHSO communicated by letter. It would appear that you can't make a service delivery complaint about a closed case.

The number of people who have registered a formal complaint about closed cases

Since April 2015 we have received 1614 formal complaints about closed cases. This includes complaints about the decision and methodology of investigations/enquiries. However this does not include service complaints as a case would be closed at that stage

phsothefacts,

Thanks for the information. Could the figure of 1614 refer to 'contacts'?

Figure for contacts were provided for the months between January 2015 and June 2015:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/2...

957 contacts' between January 2015 and June 2015 concerning complaints about PHSO decisions

61 'contacts' between January 2015 and May 2015 concerning Decisions and Service complaionts about PHSO

total 1018

267 'contacts' between January 2015 and June 2015 concerning Service complaints (plus 61)

total 328

Between January 2015 and June 2015 only 9 complaints about Methodology (and a small number of others which combined a Methodology complaint)
................................................................................................................

“A complaint about our service can be on an ongoing or completed case, and is where a customer expresses dissatisfaction about our contact and relationship with them. This covers areas such as delay, rudeness and not returning contact when asked.”

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

Could they define the term 'service complaint' narrowly thereby excluding many 'contacts' from the category? How they then categorize a complainants piece of correspondence I don't know!

I think they are now collecting information on service complaints on closed cases.

Managing Director Mick Martin has written:

'In 2013 we took a bold decision to change our service. Previously we only investigated cases where we were pretty sure there had been an administrative fault or a failure in service which had led to an injustice. Now we investigate complaints where there might have been these errors.'

reviews in progress at 2 April 2013 (time of 'bold' decision):

Service complaints: 3
Decision complaints: 105
Complaints about both service and decision: 16

Should not the change in service have led to reduction in the number complaints instead of a great increase?

Service complaints (5 working days or less )

open cases – 4
closed cases – 7

Total service complaints in one week = 11