National Ombudsmen
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LGO and CQC working together to help people find the right solution for their social care concerns
People who want to raise concerns about adult social care in England can now benefit from a new arrangement between the sector’s regulator and ombudsman which will make it easier to complain.
People who want to raise
concerns about adult social care in England can now benefit from a new
arrangement between the sector’s regulator and ombudsman which will make
it easier to complain.
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have
brought in new processes to transfer enquiries between the organisations,
saving people’s time and reducing the need for people to repeat
information.
The CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care services in
England, and its job is to make sure health and adult social care services are
providing safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage care
services to improve . As the social care ombudsman, the LGO looks at unresolved
individual complaints about all social care services – both privately and
publically arranged – and ensures that people are able to access a remedy
when services let them down.
While the LGO and CQC have
different remits for investigating social care issues, each organisation
receives enquiries that should be directed towards the other body, which can be
around 20 per day between the two.
Previously, people would have been advised to contact the other organisation
themselves. But now, following the introduction of the new process, CQC and LGO
can transfer callers directly, as well as share information securely so people
do not have to repeat their details.
Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said:
“This is a good example of one of the practical steps the ombudsman and
the regulator are taking to help improve the customer experience.
“By working closer together we are making it easier for people to access
our services, raise awareness of any issues and ultimately encourage
improvement in care provision.”
Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care at CQC said:
”It is important to make sure that people are helped to pass their
concerns or complaints about adult social care services to the right people to
act on them with the minimum of fuss. The more hoops people have to go through,
the less likely they are to report poor care. This new arrangement between CQC
and the ombudsman will firmly put the people first.”
