Overview
The complainant (Mrs C) raised concerns about the attitude of an officer (Officer 1) of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (the Care Commission) during an inspection of her nursery (the Nursery) and about the way in which her complaint to the Care Commission had been investigated.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) Officer 1 spoke to the Nursery staff in an unprofessional way during the inspection (upheld);
- (b) the Care Commission did not carry out an adequate investigation of MrsC's complaint:
- (i) Mrs C's complaint was not initially identified as a complaint (not upheld);
- (ii) the Care Commission did not take into account similar concerns which had been raised about Officer 1 when investigating Mrs C's complaint (partially upheld to the extent that Mrs C was not given an appropriate explanation for why these concerns were not taken into account);
- (iii) the Care Commission did not ask the correct questions of staff who were interviewed (not upheld); and
- (iv) Mrs C's complaint was not passed to the Care Commission Review Committee in accordance with their complaints process (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Care Commission:
- (i) take steps to ensure that all evidence provided by complainants is appropriately considered and that explanations are provided, where appropriate, for why particular evidence cannot be relied upon;
- (ii) remind relevant staff that the internal complaints procedure should be exhausted before referring a complainant to the Ombudsman; and
- (iii) apologise to Mrs C for the failings identified in this report.