The focus of the Policy Lab
The preparatory workshops identified a wide range of important issues relating to complaint handling in the Scottish social care sector. In selecting a focus for the Policy Lab, we have been guided by what we have heard from workshop participants and by the need to select a focus for the Policy Lab that can meaningfully be addressed over a short period of time and with limited resources.
Taking these matters into consideration, the proposed focus of the Policy Lab is on: developing guidance for service providers with regard to good practice in complaint handling. We have identified this as a significant gap in current policy and practice: the Care Inspectorate expects service providers to have effective arrangements in place for complaint handling, but there is not currently bespoke guidance available to service providers.
What the output of the Policy Lab might look like
Our current thinking is that guidance produced by the Policy Lab might include:
- A set of principles which should underpin complaint handling policies and procedures
- A self-assessment toolkit which would allow organisations to assess where their current approaches to complaint handling could be enhanced
- Guidance on specific complaint handling practices (such as adopting trauma informed practices or drawing on conflict management skills)
- Examples and case studies highlighting good practice and providing a prompt for reflection and policy development
- Consideration of how information from complaints could be used and integrated with other feedback to drive service improvement
The guidance will be accompanied by a report summarising the outcomes of the project.
Intended outcomes of the Policy Lab
We hope that the guidance we develop in the Policy Lab will be drawn on and adapted by service providers wishing to improve their approach to complaint handling. The guidance may also be useful as a reference point in Care Inspectorate inspections of complaint handling arrangements. The guidance could eventually form the basis of nationally agreed standards in relation to social care complaint handling. Innovative approaches developed by the Policy Lab may also be relevant to other public services in Scotland and he UK.
Publications arising from the Policy Lab’s work will be published here in due course.
Social Care Complaints in Scotland: Policy Lab 