Upheld, recommendations

Summary

Mr C was removed from his PhD studies following his annual review on the basis of his academic knowledge and performance not being of the required standard to complete his studies. Mr C appealed the decision through the academic appeals process and in supporting his appeal, he complained that the university had not responded appropriately to his requests to change his academic supervisor. He considered that the university's failure to support him in this matter had had an adverse impact on his studies. The university considered this matter, together with a consideration of his academic performance, as part of the academic appeals process. The university considered that Mr C had access to supervisory support during his studies and that his academic performance was not impacted by the relationship with his supervisor. They upheld their original decision to remove him from the course. Mr C was not satisfied with this response and brought his complaint to us. Mr C complained to us that the university had failed to respond reasonably to his requests for a change of supervisor.

We requested relevant documentation from the university relating to their consideration of Mr C's concerns about his supervision. The university delayed in providing information to us, and were unresponsive to several communications requesting information. The university's response explained that they had failed to appropriately consider Mr C's concerns about his relationship with his supervisor and that the university's policy was to encourage the relationship to develop over the first year and review matters at the annual review. The university acknowledged that this was not appropriate in the circumstances and that they missed signs that Mr C's relationship with his supervisor had broken down. The university accepted that the concerns about Mr C's supervisor should have been addressed through their complaints procedure rather than at an annual review and through the academic appeals process. Given the issues highlighted, and the delays caused by their failure to respond to our requests for information, the university wished to offer Mr C a sum of money in compensation. We accepted the university's acknowledgement of their failures in this case and we upheld the complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Provide an apology to Mr C for failing to properly consider and respond to his requests for a change in supervisor. This apology should comply with the SPSO guidelines on making an apology available at https://www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.
• Offer Mr C the agreed sum of money in recognition of the failings in responding to his concerns and the delays in assisting us with our investigations.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• Requests for a change in PhD supervisor should be properly considered and managed regardless of when they were raised. The university should adopt a more appropriate policy for considering requests for changing supervisors and this should be available to students.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Ms C, who is an advocacy and support worker, complained on behalf of her client (Ms A). When Ms A moved between local authority areas she was unhappy about aspects of how her new council had handled that transition. Complaints were raised on her behalf about this, and these were eventually determined by a social work complaints review committee (CRC). The CRC made recommendations that the council accepted. However, Ms A was unhappy with how the council had handled her complaints and the actions they took to carry out the recommendations of the CRC. Ms C brought these complaints to us.

We found that the council had not responded to a significant complaint that had been raised on Ms A's behalf and had not carried out the recommendations of the CRC in a reasonable way, or in the way they had told Ms A that they would. We found that they had not considered Ms A's situation at a specific meeting when they said they would, and that they did not inform Ms A that her case was not discussed at the meeting. In light of this, we upheld Ms C's complaints.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Provide Ms A with an apology for:
• her poor experience during her initial transition of local authorities
• their failure to provide her with an apology for her poor experience in their previous apology letter
• not promptly alerting her and apologising to her that her case was not considered at a specific meeting where they said it would be discussed.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• The council should undertake a meaningful review of their processes for clients transitioning from other local authorities, supported at corporate level.
• The council should re-issue guidance in relation to communication and a person-centred approach towards transitions from one local authority area to another.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Mr C, who is an MSP, complained on behalf of his constituent (Mr A). A council operative was instructed to clear a number of garages and dispose of the contents. The council operative opened Mr A's garage in error, cleared it and disposed of the items within it. Mr A realised that this had happened two days later and contacted the council. Mr A complained and the council admitted the error and advised Mr A to submit a claim for compensation for the disposed of items. This was handled by the council's claims handlers. They offered Mr A less than he had claimed for, as he could not provide proof of exactly what was in the garage.

Mr C complained to our office that the council had not taken reasonable precautions to ensure the correct garage was cleared and had not reasonably investigated his complaint.

We found the council had not carried out a sufficient investigation into how the mistake had occurred and it was still not clear how it had happened. We also determined that the council's claims handlers had therefore not been provided with sufficient information about the incident. We upheld both aspects of Mr C's complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Mr A for failing to take reasonable precuations to prevent the incorrect garage from being cleared. Also apologise for failing to carry out a detailed eough investigation to identify what had happened. These apologies should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at https://www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.
• Re-investigate the course of the error and provide a copy of their report to the claims handlers. They should also include what appears to be a reasonable list of items provided by Mr A that were removed from the garage.

In relation to complaints handling, we recommended:

• Complaints should be investigated thoroughly.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Miss C reported longstanding problems with her heating and hot water and had raised previous complaints with the council about this. The council had attended Miss C's property when repair requests were raised, but did not find any issues and left with the heating in working order. Miss C made a formal complaint as she was unhappy with these findings and was of the view that the problem remained unresolved. The council responded initially by advising that, as a full inspection of the heating system had been conducted four months previously, there was nothing further that they could do. Miss C escalated her complaint which prompted an inspection from the housing area team leader and a plumber. They identified several parts which needed replaced and arranged to do this. The council's complaint response offered an apology to Miss C for the delays and stress this had caused. Miss C was unhappy at the level of service she had received and she brought her complaints to us. Miss C complained to us that the council had:

unreasonably delayed in carrying out appropriate heating and hot water repairs, in line with their obligations

failed to communicate reasonably with her throughout the process

failed to carry out a reasonable investigation into her complaints.

We obtained information from the council and were of the view that, whilst the responses to individual repair requests were prompt, the level of investigation was not proportionate to the longstanding nature of the problem. When the council had the opportunity to review their practice at stage one in the complaints process, they declined to take further action based on information obtained four months previously. They also were late in acknowledging Miss C's complaint, and late in responding to her. The council explained that an extension had been agreed with Miss C, but acknowledged that they had not confirmed this in writing and therefore had no evidence of this. We upheld all aspects of Miss C's complaint and recommended that a full and sincere apology was offered for all failings by the council. We also noted that the council had advised that training on communication had been carried out and we asked them for evidence that this training was undertaken.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Miss C for:
• the unacceptable delay dealing with her repair
• the poor level of service provided, including the failings in communication and the failings in their response to her complaint
• the level of stress and upset this caused Miss C.
• The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Mr C is a council tenant and complained to the council about their failure to respond appropriately to his reports of his neighbour's anti-social behaviour. Mr C had been reporting anti-social behaviour for a number of years and the council started to take formal proceedings against the neighbour, however they stopped the action at a point, as they said that they received no further reports of anti-social behaviour from Mr C.

Mr C disputed this and received confirmation from Police Scotland of a number of reports that they had passed onto the council after the point when they had stopped the formal proceedings against the neighbour. Mr C complained that the council failed to inform him that they were no longer pursuing formal action against his neighbour.

In response to our investigation, the council acknowledged that they failed to investigate Mr C's reports of anti-social behaviour. They also acknowledged that they should have informed Mr C that they were no longer pursuing formal action against his neighbour. The council confirmed that they were reviewing their anti-social behaviour procedures and they invited Mr C to a meeting so that they can apologise and discuss his concerns. We upheld Mr C's complaints and asked the council to provide evidence of the action they said they would take.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• The council should apologise to Mr C for their failings and invite Mr C to a meeting to discuss his concerns further should he wish to accept.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Mrs C complained to the housing association that her neighbour had been making noise for a substantial period which was preventing her from sleeping. She also complained that her previous complaints regarding the anti-social behaviour of her neighbours had not been taken seriously. The association responded to Mrs C outlining that they were unable to take action against her neighbours on the basis of the evidence they had in relation to previous complaints. They also clarified communications with Mrs C and apologised if they had been misinterpreted. The association committed to publishing information in their newsletter regarding anti-social behaviour and how this would be managed. Mrs C was not satisfied with the response and complained to us that the association's response to her complaints had been unreasonable.

The association provided us with their complaints file. It was clear that there had been many complaints with respect to anti-social behaviour and estate management issues, dating back a number of years. On reviewing the response by the association we found that they had, on the whole, properly investigated Mrs C's complaints and had communicated with her. However, with respect to the response to her recent complaint, whilst we found that the association had properly investigated matters, we found that they did not properly communicate the outcome to Mrs C. We also found that they did not properly communicate about the delay in providing their response to Mrs C. These failings were not in line with the association's complaints procedure and so we upheld Mrs C's complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Provide a written apology for the failings in the complaints response. This apology should comply with the SPSO guidelines on making an apology, available at https://www.spso.org.uk.leaflets-and-guidance.

In relation to complaints handling, we recommended:

• Staff should be aware of the requirements of the association's complaints procedure and should be reminded of the requirements to communicate with complainants where there is a delay in providing a response.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Miss C complained that the dental care and treatment she received at Aberdeen Dental School and Hospital was unreasonable.

Miss C was seen by the board's dentists over a period of approximately a year. She said that there was a lack of care, unacceptable waiting times, unhelpful and unsupportive staff, and poor communication. She also raised a specific concern about an appointment where a crown was fitted.

We took independent advice from a dentist. While we found that the board provided reasonable treatment in a number of areas, we found that some aspects of the care and treatment were unreasonable. We found that there was no unreasonable delay, and there was no evidence that staff were unhelpful or unsupportive or failed to communicate with Miss C. However, we had concerns that there was no evidence that Miss C was shown the crown when it was placed. We also found that Miss C's latex allergy had not been highlighted in the clinical letters, meaning a treatment area was not prepared appropriately before a procedure, although we noted that this procedure did not ultimately take place. On balance, we upheld Miss C's complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Miss C for failing to check the appearance of the crown with her before she was discharged. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at: https://www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• Before patients leave hospital, staff should check that they are satisfied with their treatment and have no concerns.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Mr C had a scan at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital. A mass was discovered on his lung, which could have been either a spread of his existing bowel cancer or a new lung cancer. His consultant arranged some tests to help determine which it was, but because they were busy, they asked another consultant to carry out the tests. Both consultants thought that the other would be responsible for Mr C's ongoing care, so neither of them wrote a discharge letter. While Mr C attended a follow up appointment at the second consultant's clinic, he saw another doctor who referred him back to the first consultant, instead of to the multi-disciplinary team (MDT), which is what should have happened. The first consultant did not see the referral.

Mr C and his GP both tried to contact the first consultant to find out what was happening, but it is not clear whether Mr C's phone messages were passed on and his GP's letter was not seen by the first consultant. Eventually, about six months after the scan, Mr C's GP spoke with the first consultant, who then referred Mr C to the MDT for consideration and Mr C was offered palliative radiotherapy. Mr C was told that his cancer was terminal, and he was concerned that the delay may have affected this outcome. He complained to the board about this.

In response to Mr C's complaint, the board accepted that there was an unreasonable delay and a failure to communicate with Mr C about his treatment. They apologised for this and said that they had taken action to prevent this happening again. The board had put in place a new protocol for passing care between two consultants, and a message book to ensure phone messages are recorded and signed off by consultants. The board said that the delay would not have affected the outcome in Mr C's case, although they acknowledged that palliative radiotherapy should have been offered sooner. Mr C remained unhappy and brought his complaints to us.

We took independent advice from a thoracic surgeon (a surgeon who deals with treatment of conditions of the organs inside the chest). We found that the delay in arranging treatment for the mass on Mr C's lung was unreasonable. We upheld this complaint, however we noted that, although Mr C's cancer grew during this time, the delay would not have affected his outcome, as surgery or radical radiotherapy would not have been available even if he had been considered immediately. As the board had already put in place measures to avoid this happening again in the future, we did not make any further recommendations in this regard.

Mr C also complained that the hospital failed to communicate reasonably with him about the arrangements for his treatment. We found that there were failings in communication, including a failure by the first consultant to pick up on two important letters. We upheld this aspect of Mr C's complaint. We noted that the board had already taken some steps to avoid similar failings occuring in the future, however we made a further recommendation regarding mail processes.

Recommendations

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• Consultants should have robust mail processes in place to ensure that important letters are not missed or overlooked.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Mrs C made a complaint to the college following her dismissal from her course. She complained that the college had failed to adhere to its procedure during the disciplinary process. She considered that she was unreasonably dealt with under the final stage of the disciplinary process and suspended from the college unreasonably. She also said that the allegations made against her were never adequately explained to her and that the disciplinary appeal hearing was not conducted fairly. The college's response set out the process it followed, that they considered the actions taken were appropriate and that the allegations made against Mrs C were disclosed in advance of the relevant disciplinary hearings. Mrs C was not happy with the response and brought her complaints about the disciplinary process to us, as well as a complaint regarding the college's handling of her complaint.

We requested the complaints file from the college. They provided minutes of relevant meetings and an investigation report of the allegations made against Mrs C. However, they were not able to provide witness statements or evidence of the investigations that had been undertaken. The college did not know if these documents had been lost or destroyed under its document retention policy. Having considered the evidence that they provided, we found that the college could not provide evidence that the allegations against Mrs C merited escalating the disciplinary process to the final stage and suspending Mrs C. The college could not evidence that Mrs C had been provided with a summary of the evidence against her, as required under their procedures. It was also clear that the disciplinary meeting notes did not record the meetings with sufficient accuracy to allow the reader a clear understanding of the content of the meetings. We found that there were failings in how the disciplinary appeal hearing was handled. In addition, the college, in response to Mrs C's complaint, did not speak with any member of staff involved in the disciplinary process, but relied on the information which was not provided to us, or which we considered was not sufficiently clear to allow a proper investigation of the complaint. For these reasons, we upheld Mrs C's complaints.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Mrs C for the failings in the disciplinary process and in the response to her complaint. The apology should comply with the SPSO guidelines on making an apology available at https://www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• Staff should be aware of the requirements of the college's Student Disciplinary Procedure.

In relation to complaints handling, we recommended:

• The college should retain all relevant information required to evidence their disciplinary process, investigations and decisions taken during the disciplinary process for a minimum of one year from the date of the final decision. Complaints files should retain this information where appropriate to the complaint. Sufficient information should be retained to allow for independent scrutiny.
• Complaints investigation staff should be made aware of the need to speak with and gather evidence from relevant parties during complaints investigations.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.

Summary

Mrs C complained that the university had not responded reasonably to her complaints about the quality of teaching on her course, and that the university had not responded appropriately to allegations she had made that her tutor had bullied and harassed her.

We found that the university had not responded to all of the issues that Mrs C raised with them about the quality of the teaching on her course. We upheld this aspect of the complaint.

On the topic of bullying and harassment, we found that the university had not correctly followed their Harassment and Bullying Policy and Procedures when they dealt with Mrs C's complaint about this. We also found that in their response to Mrs C on this issue, the apologies they included were insufficient as they were qualified apologies which said that the university was sorry if Mrs C had taken offence, rather than saying they were sorry for the failings. We therefore upheld this aspect of Mrs C's complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Mrs C that they:
• did not respond to her allegations of harassment and bullying in line with their Harassment and Bullying Policy and Procedures
• did not respond reasonably to her complaints about the quality of teaching.
• The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/leaflets-and-guidance.
• The elements of Mrs C's complaint about the quality of teaching which were not responded to should be properly investigated.

In relation to complaints handling, we recommended:

• When responding to complaints the university should:
• respond to all specific and relevant points raised in the complaint
• not include qualified apologies in their response
• refer to policies or procedures relevant to the subject when considering the complaint.
• Both formal and informal complaints of harassment and bullying should be responded to in line with the Harassment and Bullying Policy and Procedures.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.