Watchdog sees complaints about adult social care soar

New figures reveal a surge in complaints about care for older people and the disabled in England.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), the watchdog which handles unresolved adult social care complaints, has seen an 18 per cent rise in complaints this year and has upheld more than half of them (55 per cent).

The number of complaints made about councils and private care providers to the LGO reached 2,803 this year.

Of these, 2,484 complaints were made about councils or care commissioned by councils. Some 319 complaints were made about care arranged privately with independent providers.

The adult social care areas most complained about are assessment and care planning (576), followed by residential care (496), home care (297), charging (262) and safeguarding (258).

Complaints about care homes have gone up by a quarter to 497 complaints this year, when compared to the previous year and 58 per cent of these were upheld by the watchdog.

Care home complaints related to:

• a lack of consideration for individual’s needs

• poor communication with residents and family members

• incorrect administration of medication

• inaccurate or incomplete care records

Complaints against care homes also related to their inconsistent and ineffective communication with other agencies such as GPs and pharmacies which led to residents being denied timely access to the health services they need.

Complaints about care in people’s own home rose by 60 per cent to 297 complaints this year, with 67 per cent of these upheld.

Home care complaints related to:

• home care workers being late, not staying long enough or cancelling visits

• invoicing for missed visits

• receiving care from too many care workers

• lack of consideration for people’s dignity

• poor quality or inadequate care

• not seeking appropriate and timely medical help

• inaccurate or incomplete record keeping

Poor communication between the home care provider and the council which commissions care was another major complaint.

The watchdog's findings were published in the LGO’s Annual Review of Adult Social Care Complaints 2014/15.

The report stated: “A 15 minute care call leaves little time for people to discuss any element of their care with their provider. Councils who commission home care and those who deliver it should assure themselves they have robust mechanisms in place for ensuring that the people they care for have regular opportunity to give feedback, raise concerns or make complaints.”

Local Government Ombudsman, Jane Martin, said: “An increase in complaints locally may indicate a public more willing to come forward with concerns and a sector more inclined to listen. But, as the final stage of the process, the enquiries we receive indicate a local complaint procedure not working as it should and missed opportunities to have put things right first time around.

“As the health and social care sectors become more integrated, complaints systems must maintain clear lines of accountability so that the patient or care user understands where to turn to if they wish to raise concerns.”

Ray James, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) said: “Over 1.3m people each year are recipients of adult social care services and the level of satisfaction with these services has remained high. However there is no room for complacency and ADASS welcomes the opportunity to work with the LGO, partners, staff, and importantly, the individual, to seek improvements wherever they can be made.”

This year, the LGO has seen a 46 per cent leap in the number of complaints about care arranged and funded privately with the independent sector, compared with the previous year. However, this work accounts for only 11 per cent of the total adult social care complaints it receives.

In response to the watchdog’s findings, Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England which represents England's independent social care providers said: "We are pleased to learn from the LGO that more people are exercising their right to report issues with their social care.

"We agree that the best care is carried out in an open culture where complaints can be dealt with between staff, service users and families.

“Where this is not the case, we see that the LGO plays a vital role as investigator and adjudicator.

He added: “Importantly, this report highlights that poor communication is the cause of many complaints, and we would like to see local authorities communicating effectively to avoid situations where people’s care is affected and they are left confused.

"This is especially pertinent for complaints about the funding of care: local authorities must ensure that service users don’t experience delayed assessments or 15 minute care visits. The LGO notes that in care visits of this length, there is no time to properly communicate concerns.”