Healthwatch Staffordshire NHS Complaints Advocacy Service

Healthwatch Staffordshire NHS Complaints Advocacy Service Healthwatch Advisory Board Tuesday 19 July 2016 Elizabeth Learoyd Complaints & Advocacy Mana...
Author: Gilbert Andrews
49 downloads 4 Views 1MB Size
Healthwatch Staffordshire NHS Complaints Advocacy Service Healthwatch Advisory Board Tuesday 19 July 2016 Elizabeth Learoyd Complaints & Advocacy Manager Healthwatch Staffordshire

Introduction: What is advocacy? Advocacy is taking action to help people say what they want, secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain services they need. Advocates and advocacy providers work in partnership with the people they support and take their side. Advocacy promotes social inclusion, equality and social justice. ( QPM) Advocacy in all its forms seeks to support and enable people. It works to ensure that people, particularly those who are most vulnerable in society, are able to: • Have their voice heard on issues that are important to them. ( Empowerment) • Access information and services. • Explore choices and options. • Defend and safeguard their rights. • Have their views and wishes genuinely considered when decisions are being made about their lives.

What is Complaints Advocacy • The NHS Complaints Advocacy Service is a free and independent service that can help you make a complaint about a National Health Service (NHS). • Healthwatch Staffordshire started to deliver the service for the residents of Staffordshire ( excluding the city of Stoke on Trent) from 1 February 2015. • Healthwatch Staffordshire NHS Complaints Advocacy Service is:

 Free - the service is funded by Staffordshire County Council  Independent- and not part of the NHS  Confidential– all information provided to us will be held confidentially unless a person discloses something that may lead us to believe they are going to harm themselves, or another person, or that they are going to or have committed a crime). • If someone wants to make a complaint about the NHS, but does not feel comfortable making the complaint by themselves, or if they need support at any stage of the complaints process, we can provide that support.

Background to Statutory Advocacy • NHS complaints Advocacy is a statutory service, which means everyone has a right to an advocate to help them to make their NHS complaint. Section 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 provides the legislative basis for complaints advocacy • Every Local Authority in England and Wales has an obligation to Commission NHS Complaints Advocacy. In Staffordshire, ECS were awarded the contract for this service and we have been delivering it since 1 February 2015. • The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) was the first statutory advocacy service in England . It was a response to patient views on earlier volunteer/local models as various patient surveys had reported concerns about:  Inconsistent approaches/postcode lottery

 Lack of resilience  Record keeping and case management capabilities  Inability to cope with patients treated out of area

 Lack of support for protected equality groups  Variable ability to keep up with NHS structural shifts, policy and guidance

What does the service cover? • All complaints about care and treatment delivered under contract to the NHS in England • Joint health and social care complaints • Complaints about continuing care - once they have completed the appeals procedure • Complaints about the Prisons health service • Complaints to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman • Exceptional Funding or Treatment Appeals

We currently receive approximately 70% of our complaints from Acute Care- and 30% from Primary Care - e.g. GP’s, but the service can also cover complaints about private healthcare providers if the treatment is funded by the NHS.

How we deliver the service •

The service offers direct points of access through a dedicated advocacy Freephone number, 0800 161 5600 an advocacy email address, [email protected] a text service: 07724 172811 and a referral form on the Healthwatch Staffordshire website.



We offer home visits or visits at local venues if required



When people contact the advocacy service they are told about the role and purpose of advocacy and how we can support them with their NHS complaint.



The service is “client led” which means that the client instructs the advocate on what support they need, and so each client receives individual support, tailored to their personal needs.



Many people do not know what the role of an NHS complaints advocate is, so we provide all clients with a leaflet explaining the role of an advocate and what an advocate can and can’t do and what services we can provide.



Some people feel comfortable making their own complaint, but want information about the process or their options. We encourage self advocacy and provide a Self Help Information Pack( SHIP) to guide people through the process.

Why some people don’t complain

• People are often reluctant to complain through fear of what may happen to their ( or a relatives) ongoing care and treatment • They don’t want to make a fuss • They feel intimidated by the power of professionals or institutions

• Nothing will happen as a result of my complaint- it is a waste of time as no one will listen • I don’t know who I need to contact or how I can complain • I am only one person- I cant make a difference • If I complain about my GP- I may get taken off the practice register People need to know that complaints do make a difference. Complaints should be penalty free- no difference to care and treatment provided They can get support from an advocate to make a complaint

What can we offer • We can be contacted at any point in the complaints process and provide: • An opportunity to talk through the whole story • Information and signposting, helping people to navigate their way through the NHS complaints process • Help to obtain medical records

• Access to medico legal advice if needed • Help to review options and obtain outcomes • Help to write effective complaint letters and to attend local resolution complaint meetings • Help to follow up on promised action and speaking with third parties • Free, confidential and Independent support provided by professional advocates who are suitable trained (QIA in independent advocacy) and experienced • We help empower people to get their voice heard!

How to make a referral • We want to ensure our service is accessible and available to everyone across Staffordshire. We receive self referrals and professional referrals through the following routes: • Freephone: 0800 161 5600 • Email: [email protected] • Email a prisoner website functionality • Text message:07724 172811 • Website: www.healthwatchstaffordshire/nhs-complaints - One click referral button with 48 hour call back response We can offer:

• Large print and easy read documents • Assistive technology- we have browse aloud on our web pages so people an hear the text if they have a visual impairment. Our website can also be translated into over 50 languages through google translate app, embedded into our website • Specially trained advocates who work alongside third parties, providing specialist knowledge and skills in areas of expertise such as – e.g. −Signers −Deaf advocates −Visually impaired advocates • Communications toolkits- helping us to communicate with people with learning disabilities

Guiding people through the complaints process • Advocates support and guide people through the complaints process by making a complaint direct to the service provider- this is called the Local Resolution Process • The Local Resolution Process involves writing formal letters of complaint and having complaint meetings- called Local Resolution Meetings to help people work towards their desired outcome • Through the NHS complaints process, the achievable outcomes are: An apology, an explanation or a change or process. • Sometimes at the end of the Local Resolution Process, people remain unhappy and need support to refer their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman • We also signpost people to get legal advice through the Law Society or to AVMA

What people say about our service…………  Since 1 April 2015, we have received over 300 new complaint referrals.  We have achieved many positive outcomes by helping people to get formal apologies when things have gone wrong, explanations after a death of a loved one, changes to practices and procedures which will benefit other patients in the future  We have worked with NHS Trusts and other NHS service providers including GP’s and dentists- giving them an independent view and feedback on their internal complaints procedure to simplify the process, making the whole process of complaining that little bit simpler  We receive feedback from our clients every day- here are a few of the latest comments we have received: - My advocate was very helpful and supportive at all times - The support I received helped me to get my point of view across to those people who make decisions. I feel that they actually listened to me - The service you have provided is just what I needed to help me get through such a difficult time

Case study of a service user- making a difference in the provision of adults Asperger's assessments • Mrs C asked for support to make a complaint about the lack of Asperger assessment services for adults in Staffordshire. The CCG were also unwilling to send patients for assessment in areas outside of Staffordshire. • Mrs C was unsure of who to complain to, and wanted support to draft a complaint letter. Her advocate drafted a letter to Stafford & Surrounds CCG on Mrs C’S behalf. • Mrs C received a response from the CCG to say that due to a number of issues raised by Staffordshire residents about the lack of access to Asperger assessments for adults in Staffordshire, the development of local adult assessment and diagnostic pathway is part of the CCG’s commissioning intentions for 2015-16. • Following a ruling by the PHSO in February 2015, in response to a complaint from another Staffordshire resident about the lack of adult Asperger assessment services, the CCG, along with 3 other CCGs in Staffordshire, is considering and reviewing a range of options for the delivery of an adult assessment and diagnostic service, which will shortly be operational, to meet the requirements of the national autistic strategy. • Mrs C was happy that the CCG intends to commission Asperger assessment and diagnostic services for Staffordshire and was pleased that other patients had also raised this issue and that Staffordshire CCGs had reacted positively.

Why complaints matter!  One of the most shocking failures in NHS care was documented on 6th February 2013 when Robert Francis QC published his Public Inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. He wrote: “A health service that does not listen to complaints is unlikely to reflect its patients’ needs. One that does will be more likely to detect the early warning signs that something requires correction, to address such issues and to protect others from harmful treatment.”  Healthwatch Staffordshire collates and analyses complaints data quarterly and presents its findings to Health Service Commissioners who can take action to address problems and ultimately improve service provision.  In urgent cases, working with alongside the wider role of Healthwatch Staffordshire, we can escalate problems directly to the service provider or Healthwatch England and ask that urgent action is taken.

 Complaints matter for people using services, who deserve an explanation when things go wrong and want to know that steps have been taken to make it less likely to happen to anyone else.  Ultimately complaints may signal a problem – the information can help save lives, and wellhandled concerns will help improve the quality of care for other people.

THANKS Any Questions? Email: [email protected] 0800 161 5600 or (01785) 221 776 Text: 07724 172811

Suggest Documents