Complaints about NHS and Social Care Partnership Agreements
The introduction of partnership arrangements between the NHS and Social Services has the potential to confuse established arrangements for complaints.
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Partnership arrangements have been developed between PCTs and Social Services, but the national complaints procedure has not kept up to date with these developments. PCTs are awaiting Complaints Directions and are working with a system devised in 1996 in pre-PCT days. This means that although they can work jointly at a Local Resolution level they are still restricted by different legislation beyond this.
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Ideally, complaints should be dealt with by the partnership itself, with the responsible manager taking the complaint through the informal processes, and a joint committee or sub-committee of the partnership’s governance arrangement being able to take on a formal review.
A complaints protocol for a partnership arrangement will have usually have been agreed on the processes to be used. The procedure may be similar to this example of a joint complaints procedure.
However, there may be circumstances when a referral to one or more of the partners' parent bodies is necessary. In addition, a complainant may wish to use an existing statutory complaints procedure from the outset.
The important point is that complainants need to be informed of their rights in relation to each procedure, and the relevant body must keep them up to date about how their complaint is being handled.
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Check if a joint procedure exists locally in your area
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Partnership Agreements between NHS and Local Authorities (external link)
Under the Health Act 1999, new powers to enable health and Local Authorities to work together better came into force from 1st April 2000. These are called “Partnership Agreements.” Pooled funds, lead commissioning and integrated provision have been introduced so that the focus of attention is on how responsive organisations can be to the needs of their clients rather than worrying about the boundaries of organisations.
These arrangements can be of any size and can include Primary Care Trusts and Local Authorities services such as Social Services, Housing, Transport, etc.
Partnership agreements are especially relevant to services for well-defined client groups with long term needs, where the underlying aim is to support people increasingly in social care settings but with a strong health component. Mental health services in many areas are provided under partnership agreements.
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Next: Example of a Joint Complaints Procedure
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