If you need to report that an adult is being neglected, harmed or at risk, or has care and support needs, visit adult abuse and safeguarding.
If the person is in immediate danger phone 999.
We welcome all compliments, comments and complaints about adult social care as they provide valuable information about how we can improve our services.
We aim to provide good quality services, and we need your help in telling us what we're doing well and where we can improve our services.
Get in touch
You can get in touch by:
- email: sccm@medway.gov.uk
- phone: 01634 333 036
- write to: Complaints Manager for Social Care, Customer Relations Team, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4TR.
You will not be disadvantaged in any way by making a complaint.
Give as much detail as possible. It's helpful if you can tell us:
- your name and contact details. If you're complaining on behalf of someone else, provide their contact details too (see our section on consent)
- a case reference number if you know it
- what went wrong, when this happened, and whether it involves a particular staff member
- how this disadvantaged you
- how you would like us to put things right
- whether you have a disability that means we need to support you in a different way.
We may contact you to discuss your complaint or to ask for more information.
If we need more information this may delay our investigation time.
Feedback from comments, compliments, concerns and complaints will be used by Medway Council to:
- learn what is working well
- help identify potential service problems
- help identify and prevent risks
- highlight opportunities for staff development
- collate and analyse information to improve services.
Our commitment to you
We will:
- help you, or give you advice on where to get help, to make your complaint
- listen to you and take your concerns seriously
- treat you fairly and with respect
- manage your complaint confidentially
- investigate your complaint as quickly as possible
- send you a written response.
If we have got something wrong, we will:
- apologise
- explain what happened and why
- try to ensure it does not happen again
- learn from your complaint
- apply proportionate remedies to try to put you back into the position you would have been in, had the mistake not happened.
Who can make a complaint
You can complain if you:
- get a service from adult service
- have been asked to make a complaint on behalf of someone else for example if you're a friend, relative, carer or advocate of the person
- are closely related to someone and acting on their behalf as they are unable to make their own decisions
- are a relative and need to complain on behalf of a family member who has passed away.
If you have a private arrangement with a care provider, you'll need to raise your complaint with them.
A member of our Customer Relations Team can assist you if you need help to make a complaint or require an advocate.
Consent
If you're complaining on behalf of another adult, we'll need them to consent to us discussing their case with you.
If this person does not have the ability to consent, then we may be able to accept:
- a lasting power of attorney
- similar legal documents.
We'll then consider if the complaint is being made in their best interest.
We cannot accept your complaint until consent has been established.
What you can complain about
You can complain about:
- the quality of a service we have provided for you, including those services commissioned by Medway Council and provided by an independent care provider
- a delay in providing a service or not providing a service
- your assessment, care plan or review of your services
- decisions you do not agree with, such as changes to the amount of care you receive
- the charge you pay for your service and how we assessed it
- the attitude or behaviour of our staff
- the impact of our adult social care policies on you and your services, such as our eligibility criteria.
There are some things that should be dealt with by other procedures.
Complaints will not be taken where there is:
- an ongoing disciplinary or grievance procedure
- a criminal investigation in relation to the case
- an alternative statutory appeal process available
- a legal proceeding in relation to the complaint issues which has already started
- an open safeguarding investigation, or the issues raised should be considered under safeguarding procedures.
If your complaint also involves a service provided by the NHS we may contact them, with your permission, and agree who will reply to you. You will not have to wait for 2 separate replies.
Time limit for making a complaint
We will not usually consider complaints made more than a year after the grounds to make a complaint arose.
How your complaint will be dealt with
We'll acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days.
Where consent is required, we will not accept or acknowledge your complaint until this has been confirmed.
We'll tell you if:
- we accept your complaint
- it will be dealt with as a statutory or non-statutory social care complaint
- the issues you have told us about should be considered through a different process.
Your complaint will be sent to the manager responsible for the service you have concerns about. They will aim to respond to you within 20 working days of receiving a valid complaint. Sometimes we need more time to investigate complex complaints. We'll keep you informed and let you know if this is likely to take longer.
What to do if you are not satisfied with our response
If you are not satisfied with how we handled your complaint, you can ask the Customer Relations Team to review it.
Or you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to review your complaint. The Ombudsman looks at individual complaints about councils, all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) and some other organisations providing local public services.
It investigates matters fairly and impartially and is free to use.
There are some matters the Ombudsman cannot or will not investigate. In these cases, it will clearly explain the reason for its decision.
You will need to provide it with a copy of your response so it can consider your complaint.
You can read more about the Ombudsman on the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman website or you can speak to an Ombudsman complaints advisor on 0300 061 0614.