Benefits of Membership
- ISCAS provides a complaints management framework for the independent healthcare sector incorporated in its Code of Practice.
- Compliance with the Code maximises healthcare providers’ ownership of complaints using local resolution procedures.
- The ISCAS Complaints Code’s Stage 3 adjudication affords dissatisfied complainants an independent review process with independent adjudication procedures.
- ISCAS gives providers closure of the complaints process, and a learning opportunity, at low cost.
- An Information Sharing Agreement is in place between ISCAS and separately, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW). The Public Services Ombudsman, CQC, Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and HIW afford ways to signpost the public to ISCAS, which is valued for the resolution of complaints in the independent healthcare sector. It is hoped an operating statement with HIS and Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) will shortly be in place.
The ISCAS Complaints Code’s Stage 3 adjudication affords dissatisfied complainants an independent review process with independent adjudication procedures. ISCAS has the discretion to award a goodwill payment up to the limit of £5,000, in accordance with the ISCAS Goodwill Payments Guide. However, as per the recent Annual Report for 2023- 2024, the average payment is £815. The Independent Adjudicators do not award compensation.
Join ISCAS
To be eligible for subscription to ISCAS an organisation must meet the following criteria:
• The subscriber must be an organisation treating private patients in the independent healthcare sector.
• The subscriber must be based in the UK.
• The subscriber must adhere to the spirit of the Code, comply with it and promote the ISCAS Code of Practice.
• The subscriber must accept that complainants should normally have direct access to ISCAS and that those complaining to ISCAS should be entitled to do so free of charge.
• The subscriber is required to pay membership fees as set by the ISCAS Governance Board.
• The subscriber will need to confirm to ISCAS at regular intervals that it continues to meet the ISCAS subscriber standards.
The ISCAS Governance Board reviews all subscription applications and makes the final decision regarding a successful subscription.
Subscriber fees are as follows:
All ISCAS subscribers pay an annual subscription fee, based on their annual income. The fee categories are as follows:
Provider Annual Revenue (turnover)
More than £110M and multiple sites: £5,083
£30m to £110m: £3,109
£10m to £30m: £1,692
£5m to £10m: £675
£3m to £5m: £515
£1m to £3m: £505
Under £1m: Subscription Rate per year from 1 Mar (£ ex VAT) £162
1. Provider Annual Revenue and, where appropriate, the number of sites, shall be taken as the gross annual revenue for the previous year of trading as declared by a subscriber; and the number of sites taken as those in ownership on 1 April
2. Subscription is payable within 14 days of presentation of the invoice. Subscriptions remaining unpaid for longer than 3 months from presentation may result in termination of the subscription
3. If joining during the subscription year, subscription is calculated pro-rata.
To enquire about becoming an ISCAS subscriber, please email Shahena Begum.
ISCAS Chair