Mystery Shopping Report – Making complaints to health and social care organisations within Lancashire

The report summarises a 2016 “mystery shopping” exercise carried out by Healthwatch Lancashire to assess how easy it is for the public to obtain information on making complaints about health and social care services in Lancashire. 

The project involved staff and volunteers contacting 15 organisations, making 53 telephone calls to 26 different numbers, and asking how to make a complaint without disclosing their identity. 

Overall, most calls were answered promptly, and when staff did respond, they were generally polite and helpful in their manner. 

In most cases, callers were given sufficient information to pursue a complaint, such as being directed to the organisation’s website, provided with email addresses, or advised to contact the relevant service or Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). 

However, the quality and consistency of information varied between organisations and sometimes even within the same organisation, with some callers receiving limited or unclear guidance. 

There were examples of long recorded messages, unanswered calls, or being redirected multiple times, which could discourage people from pursuing complaints. 

Some organisations, particularly certain clinical commissioning groups and Lancashire County Council, provided insufficient or inconsistent information, and callers were not always signposted to additional support such as advocacy services. 

A key issue identified was confusion about which organisation is responsible for handling complaints, especially where multiple NHS bodies and commissioning support units are involved. 

The report concludes that while frontline staff are generally courteous and often helpful, improvements are needed in clarity, consistency, and accessibility of complaints information to ensure the public can easily navigate the system and raise concerns effectively.