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State agencies continue to face a growing number of complaints
🇩🇰 Denmark /Culture & Society

State agencies continue to face a growing number of complaints

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data Context piece
  • Denmark’s Board of Appeal received 69,076 complaints last year, 18,609 more than in 2022, while the Agency for Patient Complaints received 11,826 cases, 2,612 more than in 2022.
  • Experts link the increase partly to digitalization, which has made it easier to file complaints, and say artificial intelligence could broaden access to the appeals system.
  • The Parliamentary Ombudsman expects to receive about 8,000 complaints this year, compared with 7,131 last year and 5,072 in 2022.

The pile of complaints handled by Denmark’s administrative review bodies is growing. New figures from the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Board of Appeal and the Agency for Patient Complaints show sharp increases in the number of cases.

The Board of Appeal received 69,076 complaints last year, 18,609 more than in 2022. Citizens can use the body to challenge decisions made by municipalities. The Agency for Patient Complaints received 11,826 complaints about healthcare professionals, medical treatment or breaches of patients’ rights, 2,612 more than in 2022.

Michael Gøtze, a professor of administrative law at the University of Copenhagen, said digitalization may help explain the rise. “Denmark has some of the world’s most developed complaints bodies, and digitalization has only made it easier to send in a complaint,” he told Kristeligt Dagblad.

Denmark has some of the world’s most developed complaints bodies, and digitalization has only made it easier to send in a complaint.

— Michael GøtzeThe University of Copenhagen professor linked the rise in complaints partly to digitalization.

Aske Halling, an assistant professor at Aarhus University who researches interactions between citizens and the state, said artificial intelligence could help reduce the imbalance in which people with more resources tend to complain most often. “For the most part, this is a positive story, because more people get the opportunity to exercise the right they have to complain. But it also puts pressure on the authorities, which they have to figure out how to handle,” he said.

There are no figures showing how many complaints were written with artificial intelligence. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has previously estimated that AI helped produce roughly one in four complaints submitted to the office. It received 7,131 complaints last year and 5,072 in 2022, and expects the total to reach 8,000 this year.

For the most part, this is a positive story, because more people get the opportunity to exercise the right they have to complain. But it also puts pressure on the authorities, which they have to figure out how to handle.

— Aske HallingThe Aarhus University researcher described both the broader access and the administrative pressure created by more complaints.
About this summary

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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