Councillors want to know what's behind the 79 per cent increase in care complaints
“If someone does make a complaint, that's an effort on their part. They've made that effort for a reason”
Sheffield councillors want to get to the bottom of the "sharp increase" in number of adult social care complaints revealed in an recent report.
Councillor Ruth Milsom shared concerns at an adult health and social care policy committee on October 21, after a report to the committee suggested a 79 per cent increase in care complaints could be down to national trends, an easier complaints process and the increase of using artificial intelligence (AI).
79 per cent represents 317 new complaints in 2025/26, compared with 177 in 2024/25.
"The assumption that us (the council) making complaints easier to exercise, and potential use of AI in writing a complaint letter, it just seems we ought to be looking a bit harder at what the underlying causes are,"Coun Milsom said.
“It seems we are explaining away why there's this big increase.
“If someone does make a complaint that's an effort on their part. They've made that effort for a reason.
"It does take effort, even if we have made it simpler. If someone's done that I do think we should be looking at why they've done that."
She said the council needed to look more at the trends behind why people complain, as well as the trends in the ones that are upheld.
On AI, Matt Bowsher, director of adult social care and wellbeing at Sheffield City Council, said: “It's a background factor rather than an excuse and there is no intention whatsoever to deny anybody in Sheffield their right to complain."
He said performance of the the ombudsman (the independent service that looks at council complaints) compares "favourably" against other core cities.