Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to implement improvements in health and social are services arising from complaints and feedback made by service users.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Department is working with partners across the health and care system to make improvements to complaints handling. This includes Healthwatch England working to improve the information and advice that people receive when they need support to raise a concern or make a complaint. It also includes working with the Care Quality Commission as they develop their inspection methodology across health and social care so it places greater emphasis on listening to, and learning from, complaints as well as other sources of patient feedback. A single legislative framework exists for complaints handling to ensure consistency across the health and social care system.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of aligning health services in regulatory bodies and ombudsman services.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Government is considering reports of the Public Administration Select Committee into how complaints about public services are handled. As part of this inquiry, the Cabinet Office is undertaking work to further investigate how public services can make best use of complaints and also to take a wider look at the role and powers of the public sector Ombudsmen. The Government will respond to these reports in due course.