Complain to your residential or nursing home, or provider of services: If you are dissatisfied with the services or treatment you have received from a residential home, nursing home or provider of home care services you should complain first to the home or organisation concerned. You also have a right to complain on behalf of another person, for example someone who is not able to make a complaint on their own. Wherever possible you should tell someone close to the cause of your complaint (e.g. a member of staff or the manager of the home or services). You can get help with making a complaint from your local Social Services or the Citizens' Advice Bureau.

Informal social services complaints: If you do not wish to complain to the home or organisation direct, you should contact the manager of your social services office or the joint inspection unit (see step 3) if you are living in a private nursing home or residential home. You can find contact details through your local authority/council (links are provided below).

Complain to Social Services: If you are not satisfied with the response from your home or informal complaint you can make a formal complaint to the complaints manager at your local social services. You will be asked to complete a complaints form. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days and if your complaint can be investigated under the Complaints Procedure the Complaints Manager will arrange for an Investigating Officer to look into it. The Investigating Officer will be a senior manager who works for Social Services. Some complaints cannot be investigated under the Complaints Procedure. If this is the case with your complaint, the Complaints Manager will write and explain why and what else you might be able to do.

Independent Review: Sometimes the Complaints Manager will appoint an Independent Person to your complaint. Independent People do not work for Social Services and their job is to make sure that Social Services carries out complaints investigations properly. An Independent Person will always be appointed to a complaint about services to a child and will sometimes be appointed to complaints about other services. You should expect a reply to your complaint within 28 days of having received it. If there is a delay the Complaints Manager will inform you and tell you when you can expect a full response. When the investigation is finished, the senior manager responsible for the service you have complained about will write to you telling you what action Social Services has decided to take. You will also receive: the Investigating Officer’s Report, and the Independent Person's report (if an Independent Person was involved in investigating your complaint) .

Review Panel: If you are not satisfied with the results of the formal complaints investigation you can ask for a Review Panel to consider your complaint. A Review Panel consists of three people: an independent chairperson; a county councillor (member of the Regulatory Committee); an assistant director of Social Services from an area unconnected with your complaint. You will be asked to write down the points you would like the Review Panel to consider on a special form the Complaints Manager will send you.

The Review Panel Hearing: The Complaints Manager will arrange a convenient date and place with you for the Review Panel Hearing. Any information which you want the Review Panel to consider will be included in a file together with information supplied by Social Services. The Complaints Manager will send you a full copy of this file several days before the Review Panel Hearing. You, or your representative (if you have one), will be asked to talk to the Review Panel about your complaint. Social Services staff will also be asked to talk about the complaint investigation and the action they have taken as a result. The Review Panel members will then send their recommendations in writing to the Director of Social Services. A copy of these recommendations will also be sent: to you; to your representative (if you have one); and to the person on whose behalf you are complaining (if this applies) The Director of Social Services will write to you within 28 days of the Review Panel Hearing to tell you of his final decision.

Complaining to the Local Government Service Ombudsman: If you are not satisfied with the independent person's decision or are not satisfied with the Review Panel's investigation you can ask the Ombudsman to investigate. The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) is completely independent of both Social Services and the Government. He/she has been given wide powers by Parliament to investigate complaints about services provided within the Social Services.  There is no appeal against the Ombudsman's decision.

What sort of complaints will the Ombudsman investigate? The Ombudsman can investigate complaints if Social Services has: taken too long to take action without good reason; not followed its own rules or the law; broken its promises; given you the wrong information; not made a decision in the correct way. The Ombudsman cannot question what Social Services has done simply because you do not agree with it.

What about non Social Services assisted care? If the residential, nursing home or home care services you receive have not been arranged by social services, you can still complain to the Joint Inspection Unit (details are available through your local council – see links on this site). You can write or telephone and have the right to complain on behalf of another person. It is possible to make an anonymous complaint which will always be followed up but such complaints are often difficult to resolve and it is preferable to give your name and contact details.

Complaints about the conduct of other health professionals: Complaints relating to the attitude or behaviour of other health related staff including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech & language therapists, dietitians, radiographers, chiropodists and other therapists, but NOT doctors, nurses, dentists, opticians or pharmacists or reidential homes, should be made to the Health Professions Council (HPC). The HPC's Investigating Committee will check a complaint or allegation to determine if there is a case and the nature of the case. If so, it then goes to either the Conduct and Competence Committee or the Health Committee.

Joint Inspection Unit procedures:  One of the Unit's staff may want to meet you to talk through your concerns and agree with you the way in which the problem will be tackled. Usually they will suggest that the matter is taken up, on your behalf, directly with the care provider. However if the complaint is dealt with you will be kept informed of progress and will be told of the final outcome in writing. Some serious complaints may lead on to legal action being taken against the care provider.

Court: Failing all else you can still go to court to resolve your dispute. Details of small claims court and other procedures are given in the Legal Section of this site. You can also contact the Community Legal Service (justask.org.uk) that gives access to free advice. Otherwise your local Citizens' Advice Bureau will give you advice and will sometimes organise free legal representation for you.