Public sector in dock as even complaints attract complaints

PUBLIC bodies such as councils and health boards have been heavily criticised in a scathing report by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman over the “confusing” and “cumbersome” way they deal with complaints from the public about frontline services.

Ombudsman Jim Martin, in a strongly worded attack on the complaints procedures of public bodies, told The Scotsman that too many people working for local councils think they “own the council” and that some planners are “condescending” to householders. That in-turn tips the balance in “favour” of developers.

He also said that “increasing numbers of people are made to jump through hoops”, when making complaints to bodies such as health boards and that some families of deceased patients had been forced to go through “unnecessary suffering” during lengthy delays.

The Ombudsman also called for it to be made “easier” for people to complain to public bodies, as he issued a stark warning about a sharp rise in complaints, when deep cuts to Scotland’s public services start to bite during the next year.

The comments came as the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) received a total of 3,489 complaints in 2010-11, up from 3,307 the previous year, with a total of 34 per cent upheld in some way.

Mr Martin, in his annual report, said: “In too many cases, particularly in local authorities and housing associations, complaints systems are confusing, difficult to access, slow, cumbersome and overly bureaucratic.”

He said that a large chunk of complaints focused on how council tax was calculated, planning issues, as well as about patients treatment in the NHS.

But Mr Martin said that one of the largest sources of complaints was “ironically about complaint handling itself.”

He said: “I’m conscious that it’s generally very difficult for ordinary citizens to navigate the complaints procedures. We’ve heard of cases where people complained to a council over a year ago, but have still not had their issues addressed.

“Sometimes people believe that because they work in local authorities, that they own the council. Planning can be very difficult for ordinary citizens to get their complaints dealt with, sometimes because the attitude of planners can be very condescending.

“When the cuts come in, I expect more people to complain and we have to make it easier for them to do so.”

A spokesman from Scottish local councils body Cosla said: “The number of complaints received has to be set in the context of the wide range and complexity of services provided by councils.”