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You may wish to raise concerns about how your carer's assessment was carried out. You may wish to challenge decisions about what care will be provided, including care put in place after a patient is discharged from hospital. You may wish to challenge the amount that is being charged for services. If your complaint is on behalf of the person you care for, you must have their consent if they have the capacity to do so.
Whatever your situation it is important to know your rights and have access to advice. Advice centres like the Citizens Advice Bureau or a disability organisation can help you make a complaint or give you details of lawyers able to advise on community care law.
Carers who have been through making a complaint say it is always helpful to make a note of telephone calls. Write down who you spoke to, the time and a brief note about what was said.
Under the Data Protection Act 1998:
- You can ask social services for a copy of your file.
- If you are legally able to act on behalf of the person you are caring for, you can also ask for their file.
- You should receive this information within 40 days, but the local authority can charge.
From the 1st April 2009, there is a new complaints procedure to coincide with the commencement of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). If you have started a complaint before the 1st April 2009, it will be dealt with under the previous system, which is a 3 stage complaint procedure.
Every local authority is required to have a complaints procedure. In most circumstances a complaint should be made within one year of the event or the date that the issue came to your notice. In some cases your complaint may be accepted later than this if you have had good reasons for the delay and your complaint can still be effectively and fairly investigated.
You can make your complaint orally, in writing or electronically (by email). If you make it orally, your local authority should record it in writing and give you a copy. You should receive an oral or written acknowledgement within 3 days.
If your complaint is about the care being provided by an agency on behalf of the local authority, the local authority must send details to the care agency if you consent to this.
If your complaint is about both the local authority and the agency, the local authority has a duty to co-operate with the agency to ensure a that they work together in both investigating and responding to your complaint.
The local authority must investigate your complaint in a way that is appropriate to resolve it speedily and efficiently. This may involve different procedures such as:
- an internal investigation
- use of an external investigator
- an offer of mediation
You should be kept informed of progress. Once the investigation has been completed, the local authority must provide you with the following as soon as is reasonably practicable:
- a report including an explanation of how the complaint has been considered and the conclusions reached. This should include details of any action needed to remedy the situation
- confirmation as to whether the local authority is satisfied that any recommended action has been or will be taken
- details of your rights to take the complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman
There are some situations when a local authority is not required to investigate a complaint. This includes where you are complaining on behalf of someone who lacks mental capacity and the local authority does not consider that you are acting in their best interests. It may also include where your complaint has already been investigated.
If the local authority does not provide you with a response within 6 months of receiving your complaint, it must write to you to explain why. It must also provide you with a response as soon as reasonably practical. If there is an unreasonable delay, you may wish to contact the Local Government Ombudsman (see below).
Monitoring Officer
Every local authority must have its own Monitoring Officer who reports on any matter that might be illegal or lead to maladministration or injustice by the local authority.
Their decision must first be considered by the local authority before any action is taken. If you are still not satisfied you can write to the local authority's Monitoring Officer asking them to review the social services' policy, saying what the decision or proposal was and why you think it is unlawful or could be maladministration.
Local Government Ombudsman
If you have gone through social services' own complaints procedures and are still not satisfied you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman can investigate complaints against local authorities, including social services. S/he will only do so where there has been 'maladministration' - such as unreasonable delay, or failure to follow proper procedures. You can complain to the Ombudsman up to 12 months after the incident.
Judicial review
Where social services appear to have acted unlawfully in reaching a decision, you can apply to the High Court, asking a judge to review the decision. It is important to realise that you may need to act promptly (usually within three months) so should seek legal advice as quickly as you can. Paying privately for such cases is very expensive, but there is help (public funding) with the costs for people on low incomes.
A judicial review may be appropriate where social services have refused to carry out an assessment or reach a decision, particularly if services are required urgently.