How to complain about home care

If you are receiving care and support at home from a home care company and you are not happy with the quality of care you are getting, you have every right to make a complaint.

Similarly if you feel the safety and health of your neighbour or relative is being put at risk by the home carer’s behaviour and poor standard of care, you can also make a complaint. However you do have to ask the person receiving the care for their consent before you do this.

Issues that could lead to a complaint include:

• If the carer is not staying for the whole time they have been contracted for
• If they are giving wrong doses of medication
• They are making sexist, homophobic or racist remarks
• The care they are giving is of a poor standard

Who do you complain to about home care?

If you are not happy with the length of time the care worker is staying for or they are meant to arrive at a certain time and are regularly late, you should first of all address this issue with the carer themselves.

You need to be clear about what changes you expect to take place if and when the complaint is resolved.

Don’t get emotional and keep calm and professional.

If you feel that you are getting nowhere with the carer and the issues are continuing then you need to take it up with the home care provider. Every registered home care provider is required to have a proper complaints procedure to follow.

Complaining to the home care provider

If you are paying for your own care your first step is to complain to the home care agency providing the care.

You may find it easier to address the complaint in a letter or email. As then you will have time to set it all out in detail rather than saying it on the phone when you may get emotional particularly if it concerns a close family member who you really care about.

If you have a good relationship with the home care agency it can sometimes be better to chat about it face to face or on the phone. As there may be a simple misunderstanding that can be ironed out in a phone call. But if you do call, make a note of what went on in the phone call and ask them to confirm it in writing in an email or a letter. They should set out for you in the email or letter what steps they will be taking to address the complaint.

So it all depends really on what kind of relationship you have with the home care agency.

The whole complaints process can take weeks and they should be able to let you know at the start what the time frame will be. If it has gone over this you can politely chase for an update.

Complaining to the local authority

If you are not funding the home care yourself and it is being paid for by the local authority then you need to contact them as they are responsible for your care or your family member or friend’s care.

Ask the council for a copy of the complaints procedure so you know what the process is.

They should also put you in touch with an independent advocacy service to support you with your complaint.

Complaining about theft or abuse

The complaints process can take a while. But if you believe that the health and safety of yourself or someone is at risk then you need to take immediate action.

You will need to get in touch with the home care agency and make them aware of your concerns. If you really believe there is significant risk involved, you need to stop the care visits.

But do bear in mind that people living with dementia can sometimes have paranoia and if they forget where they have put something they may jump to the conclusion that it has been stolen.

In addition dementia can cause people to have delusions and they can believe that the people closest to them are trying to harm or hurt them so they may make accusations against their family, friends and carers.

If you believe there is serious risk of harm you can call the Action on Elder Abuse confidential helpline to discuss the situation.

Complaining about home care in England

If your complaint to the home care provider or the local authority does not result in an outcome that is satisfactory to you, your next option is to go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman’s role is to investigate complaints against councils and all adult social care providers (which includes home care providers and care homes).

This is a free service and is independent so they will not take sides with yourself or the care provider.

However the Ombudsman will only agree to look into the complaint once you have spoken to the home care agency and gone through the complaints process and tried to come to a resolution.

Up to Ombudsman whether they investigate

It is up to the Ombudsman whether they investigate the complaint. You must raise it with them within a 12 month period of realising there is an issue.

If the complaint is about a family member or friend you can still raise a complaint. But you must first seek their permission.

You can complete a form online.

If you do not have access to the internet you can speak to a complaint advisor by calling 0300 061 0614.

You can also contact the care regulator which for England is Care Quality Commission (CQC) and make them aware of the issue you have with the home care provider.

The CQC does not investigate individual complaints. But they still like to be kept informed and may decide to carry out an inspection of the provider if they feel it warrants it.

Complaining about home care in Scotland

If you live in Scotland, the Care Inspectorate will investigate individual complaints about the standard of care provided by a registered care provider.

You can contact them by filling in their form online or by sending them a complaints form by letter or by email. You can also call about the complaint on 0345 600 9527.

If you are not happy with the outcome of this, you can contact the Public Services Ombudsman Scotland, which is a free and impartial service.

Complaining about home care in Wales

In Wales, if you are not happy with the response of the home care provider or the local authority, your next step is to contact the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

The Welsh Ombudsman is impartial and free of charge. It will correspond with people making a complaint in English and Welsh.

You can fill in a complaint online or post or email the form. If this is not possible you can ring the Ombudsman on 0300 790 0203.

Care Inspectorate Wales does not investigate individual complaints or resolve disagreements between people and their service providers.

But if you think someone may be at risk of harm, abuse or neglect, you should contact Care Inspectorate Wales to make them aware of your concerns as they may want to carry out an inspection.

Complaining about home care in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland if your care has been arranged by your local health and social care trust, you should go to the Trust with your complaint.

You can contact the Patient and Client Council if you need help with making a complaint. They will give you information and advice for free and in confidence.

If you are still not happy after you have gone to the Trust or if you are paying for the care yourself, with the response from the care provider, you can contact the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) which is free and impartial.

Northern Ireland’s care regulator the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), cannot investigate individual complaints but if you feel there is a risk of abuse or harm, it may trigger an inspection from the RQIA.