How to Complain About a Care Home
If something isn’t right, don’t wait. Raising a concern early gives the care home the best opportunity to investigate what happened and put things right.
Speak up early
If you have a concern about the care your relative is receiving, something that has happened in the home, or the way the service is being run, you don’t have to wait until the situation becomes serious before saying something.
In most cases, the best place to start is with the nurse or senior member of staff in charge at the time.
Raising an issue as soon as you notice it gives the care team an opportunity to put things right quickly. It also means staff are more likely to remember what happened and relevant records, witnesses and other evidence are easier to identify.
A concern reported today is much easier to investigate than the same concern reported several weeks later.
Ask for the home’s complaints procedure
If you are unsure how to make a formal complaint, ask the care home for a copy of its complaints procedure or complaints policy.
You should be able to ask for this without difficulty. If you don’t know who deals with complaints, simply ask a member of staff.
I’d like a copy of the home’s complaints procedure, please.
The procedure should explain things such as:
- Who you should complain to
- How a complaint can be made
- Whether complaints can be made verbally, in writing or by email
- How the complaint will be investigated
- Who will respond to you
- What you should expect in terms of timescales
- What you can do if you remain dissatisfied
If something has gone wrong, raising it promptly with the staff member responsible may be enough to resolve it. If it isn’t resolved, the home’s formal complaints procedure gives you a clear route to escalate it.
Speak to the nurse or senior in charge
If there is an immediate concern about your relative’s care, ask to speak to the nurse or senior member of staff in charge.
Explain:
- What has happened
- When it happened
- Why you are concerned
- What you would like the home to do about it
Be specific
A specific concern is usually easier to investigate than a general complaint.
“Mum isn’t being looked after properly.”
“Mum told me that she didn’t receive her lunchtime medication yesterday. Can you please check what happened and let me know?”
What should happen next?
The nurse or senior should listen to your concern, check what they can at the time and take appropriate action.
Sometimes a concern can be resolved immediately. There may have been a misunderstanding, a communication problem or something that can simply be corrected.
If the issue is more serious, it may need to be investigated by someone more senior.
Ask who will be looking into your concern and what will happen next.
Speak to the Home Manager
If the nurse or senior hasn’t resolved the issue, the next step should normally be the Home Manager.
Where possible, speak to the manager in person. You can also put your concerns in writing, particularly if the issue is complicated or you want a clear record of what you have reported.
What should you include?
- What happened
- When you first reported it
- Who you reported it to
- What response you received
- Why you remain dissatisfied
- What you would like the home to do
Why the Home Manager matters
The Home Manager is usually the person with the authority to change how the service operates.
They can investigate concerns, speak to staff, review records, change processes, arrange additional training and take action where standards have not been met.
This is why it is important not to bypass the manager unnecessarily. Even if you intend to take a complaint to an external organisation, giving the Home Manager the opportunity to address the problem can sometimes produce a much quicker resolution.
What can you expect?
The manager should consider your complaint, establish what happened and decide what action is appropriate.
Depending on the nature of the concern, this could involve reviewing care records, speaking to staff, examining medication records, checking policies or speaking to your relative.
Consider the Regional or senior manager
Many care homes are part of a larger organisation. If the Home Manager has not resolved your concern, check whether there is a Regional Manager, Regional Lead, Operations Manager or another senior contact.
Their contact details may be available from the home, the provider’s website or the home’s complaints information.
You have already complained to the Home Manager
You don’t feel the investigation has addressed your concerns
The concern involves the management of the home itself
The issue appears to be part of a wider organisational problem
Explain what you have already done and provide copies of previous correspondence where appropriate.
Consider the local authority or CQC
If you have followed the provider’s complaints process and remain dissatisfied, there may be external organisations that can become involved.
Which organisation is appropriate depends on the nature of the complaint and how the person’s care is funded.
Local authority
If your relative’s care is arranged or funded by the local authority, you can consider contacting the relevant adult social care team.
The local authority may have its own complaints procedure and may be able to investigate concerns relating to the care it has commissioned or arranged.
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates registered care services in England.
You can tell the CQC about concerns relating to a care provider. However, it is important to understand that the CQC is not normally there to act as a mediator between a family and a care home or to resolve an individual dispute in the same way that the Home Manager can.
If you report a concern to the CQC, it may ask the provider for information about what happened and what action has been taken.
How to escalate a concern
Serious concerns, safeguarding issues or immediate risks should be reported through the appropriate route without unnecessary delay.
Make a simple timeline
If a concern isn’t resolved quickly, keep a simple record of what you have reported. You don’t need to create a complicated dossier.
Keep copies of emails and written responses. A straightforward timeline can be extremely useful if the issue eventually needs to be escalated.
Don’t wait until a small problem becomes a big one.
Families sometimes worry that making a complaint will damage their relationship with the care home or affect the care their relative receives.
A well-run care home should be able to receive concerns professionally and use them to improve the service.
You don’t need to wait until you have built a large case. If something doesn’t seem right, raise it early.
The aim is to get the problem properly investigated and, where something has gone wrong, put right.