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Making Experiences Count - reform of the Health and Social Care complaints arrangements
Support to help implement the new complaints system
From 1 April 2009, there is a single approach to dealing with complaints. It gives organisations the flexibility they need to deal with complaints effectively. It also encourage a culture that seeks and then uses people’s experiences to make services more effective, personal and safe.
Over 90 health and social care organisations have tested the new approach for dealing with complaints. To help other NHS and social care organisations implement the new system a range of support is in place.
Regional networking and exhibition events
Four events were held to help share best practice. The events were attended by over 1200 complaints, customer services and PALS managers, their staff and line managers, within health and social care organisations in England. The events are were held in Birmingham , London, Leeds and Bristol.
Listening, responding, improving: a guide to better customer care
The guide has been developed to help complaints professionals work with colleagues to make their organisations better at listening, responding and learning from people’s experiences. It is designed to be accessible to anyone working in health and social care organisations who is involved in receiving feedback and resolving concerns and complaints from patients, service users and their representatives. Additional advice sheets for complaints professionals have also been produced covering a range of issues.
Key messages on complaints reform
This letter sent to NHS chief executives and Directors of Adult Social Care in February 2009 provides key messages on complaints reform for circulation to boards, cabinets, senior management teams and members. It also provides a summary of the new legislation.
Early adopters
From April 2008, over 90 health and social care organisations helped develop and test the new complaints. These Early Adopter sites represented a wide variety of local settings, approaches to complaints handling and levels of performance.
Complaints reform archive
Archive of key documents in the development of the new legislative framework.
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