Ombudsman urges leaders to “give voice to the voiceless” amid rise in rate of adult social care complaints that are upheld

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has today (25 September) launched its annual review of Adult Social Care, which urges leaders to “focus on the vulnerable and voiceless”.

The report highlights key cases from the past year, including one where an autistic man was not provided with an advocate when assessing the support he needed.

In another case, more than 300 people in one north western borough were being provided with care calls lasting less than 15 minutes – “hardly enough time to provide the dignified care they were assessed as needing”, said the Ombudsman.

The report notes that compliance with the LGSCO’s recommendations remains “very high” at 99.6%, and that it recorded only three cases of non-compliance during the year.

Taking its adult care work alone, the Ombudsman revealed that its uphold rate has increased five percentage points from last year to 75%.

However, it was also said that complaints received have “levelled off” in recent years.

In the report, Ombudsman Paul Najsarek calls on leaders to “rigorously scrutinise those services provided to people who might otherwise be hidden in society to ensure they are performing well for those who may be unable to speak up for themselves”.

The report also highlights areas of adult care where the Ombudsman cannot investigate, for example in daycare centres.

The Ombudsman has requested for these ‘accountability gaps’ to be closed by extending its jurisdiction to all settings, “thereby allowing a route to redress for people if things go wrong wherever their care is provided”.

The report calls for “all adult care providers to be required to signpost complainants to our service, enshrining in law what providers should already be doing”.

Najsarek said: “I urge senior leaders to give voice to the voiceless: those who cannot complain for themselves because they are unsupported, isolated or simply lack the capacity to do so.

“Where these vulnerable people are hidden from view, it is all the more important that leaders scrutinise the services they receive to shine a light on how they perform for the people they are meant to support. Putting people’s lived experiences at the heart of services should ensure they remain person-centred, despite the challenging climate.

“I encourage providers of care – however funded – to focus on the fundamentals: providing good quality, safe services with well-run complaint functions which identify opportunities to improve where challenges arise.”

Lottie Winson