If you tell us what you think of adult social services, we can use your experience to show when we have got things right, or when we need to improve to make things better.
What you can share with us
- Your comments - If you think we could do things differently or better, or how we might improve the services you received from us
- Your compliments - If you think we have got things right or you feel satisfied with the service we have provided
- Your complaints -If you disagree with what is happening, want to challenge decisions we have made, or if you are not satisfied with the service you receive. Also, if you think you should receive a service that you are not getting at the moment, let us know.
By telling us, we can talk through the issues with you and give you an assurance that your right to receive services will not be affected in any way by what you tell us.
How you can tell us
If your concern is about a residential or nursing home, it may be appropriate to contact the Care Quality Commission, National Customer Service Centre, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE1 4PA. Phone 0300 061 6161. Email enquiries@cqc.org.uk.
What happens next
We will acknowledge all comments, compliments and complaints within three working days.
We will normally discuss your complaint with you and try to agree the best way of dealing with it and within what timescales. We treat every complaint on an individual basis but may arrange:
- A meeting to discuss and explain why decisions have been made
- A manager of the service you are complaining about to investigate your complaints
- For someone from outside of the service to investigate your complaints
- For someone to mediate between you and the service.
Complaint plan
If we cannot resolve your complaint immediately, we will write to you to confirm what action we will take to respond to your complaint. This will be detailed in a complaint plan, which will clearly state what complaints are being made, how we will respond, who will respond and in what timescales.
When you tell us about your complaint it is important that you let us know what you want to happen to resolve your complaint. This will be included in the complaint plan.
Learning from complaints
We will write to you to confirm what conclusion we have reached in respect of your complaint. We will also let you know what actions we will take as a result of your complaint if your experience has shown us that we should do things better in the future.
If we get things wrong we will apologise for any errors and try to agree how we can resolve things with you. We will also take what action is needed to make sure we change things as necessary in the future.
What happens if you are not satisfied
If you remain dissatisfied, we will try to agree on further action that could be taken to resolve your complaint. This may mean that another complaint plan is produced.
If we cannot agree on appropriate action, you can consider referring your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Staff from the complaints team can advise you on how to do this.
Alternatively, you can contact the ombudsman directly via a number of ways:
How to make a formal complaint
To make a formal complaint you can use our online form: