Annual reports

Annual Report 2022/2023

The past year has been a productive year of collaboration and partnership, as ISCAS has been working with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombusdman (PHSO) to implement the Complaint Standards Framework in England. Patients will now be able to recognise the principles in both the PHSO and the ISCAS Codes, as recommended by Recommendation 6a of the Paterson report.

In addition, ISCAS continues its collaboration with the Patients Association and together we are working to establish the impact on patients treated in NHS Private Patient Units (PPU’s), who do not have access to an External Review Stage.

Annual Report 2021/2022

Last year it was apparent that in order to remain an Appropriate Body, ISCAS needed to change its status, and accordingly, we have merged it into CEDR. It now forms a fully owned but independently operated part of that charity.

The Enquiry following the Paterson verdict made a number of recommendations and ISCAS is continuing to work closely with the Department of Health to take forward Recommendation 6a and 6b. Beyond our subscribers, we are opening this report to the teams taking forward the outcomes of the Paterson Report, with particular reference to the recommendation that every private patient should have access to an External Review Stage of the complaints process. We are pleased to be so widely acknowledged as a recognised body for setting the standards for the management of complaints in the independent healthcare sector.

Annual Report 2020/2021

It is 20 years since ISCAS was formed to give the Independent healthcare sector a standard for fair handling of complaints. Now 160 healthcare providers subscribe to the ISCAS Code for handling complaints, the vast majority of the sector. In this reporting year, 109 complaints were finally resolved by adjudication. An immeasurably larger number were brought to an equitable resolution by the application of the ISCAS Code. Work on updating the current Code is continuing.

Circumstances of the pandemic has delayed this for which we apologise. Too many private patients treated in PPUs lack the benefit of independent external review of their concerns, so a focus of our work is to attract many more PPUs to subscribe.  The Paterson enquiry recommended that all private patients should have the right to mandatory independent review of their complaint.

Annual Report 2019/2020

Following the launch of the Paterson Inquiry Report in February 2020, ISCAS has already begun to implement relevant recommendations from the Inquiry report. ISCAS is pleased to be a partner organisation with the Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and part of the group working on the Complaints Standard Framework (CSF)

ISCAS has continued to work with the Patients Association and has improved the consent form for patients to improve information governance and help patients understand what is within scope for ISCAS and the areas that are not covered by the Code. The consent form will be launched following the next Code review.

Annual Report 2018/2019

The Patients Association has worked with ISCAS to develop on-line training to ensure lessons learned from complaint handling can be accessed widely in subscribing organisations. It is planned to continue the organisational membership for 2019/20 with a focus on updating the Patients’ Guide and improving information for patients about private healthcare.

Annual Report 2017

New for 2017 has been the introduction of ISCAS position statements developed from themes that are identified in the independent adjudications. The position statement on Complaints Management and Practising Privileges makes clear to all subscribers that Independent Healthcare Providers are required to provide a single response to a complaint.

Annual Report 2016

A key activity for this year has been work to revise and update the Code of Practice for Complaints Management (the code). This sets out the good practice Standards set by ISCAS for Independent Healthcare Providers (IHPs), as well as for the independent adjudication service provided by ISCAS. During the past year ISCAS has focussed on strengthening its structure and systems and has once again turned its attention on to trying to get some resolution for complaints in PPUs (private patient units in NHS hospitals).’

Annual Report 2015

This year's report details two major changes - representation of patient interests on the ISCAS Governance Board has been increased, and the Board approved the move of the service to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

Annual Report 2014

The latest ISCAS Annual Report demonstrates that throughout 2014, improving the quality of complaints handling by providers has been a key driver for ISCAS. The Management Team has worked hard with ISCAS subscribers to improve processes for handling and investigating complaints.

Annual Report 2013

ISCAS has seen an increase in the number of adjudication cases over the year and continues to receive consistently high number of enquiries from the public seeking information about complaint procedures. The number of people contacting ISCAS about non member services has also risen significantly.

Annual Report 2011/2012

ISCAS, having been established for over 10 years, continues to be the recognised complaints management framework in the independent healthcare sector, serving patients, the public and healthcare organisations.