Social Care - comments, compliments and complaints

You have the right to receive a good level of service and we want you to get the best possible support from us. Listening to your views helps us to put things right and improve our services for the future, so your comments, compliments, complaints and suggestions are important and always welcome. This page gives you advice on how to go about telling us what you think.

Making a Comment, Compliment, Complaint or Suggestion

Making a comment or a suggestion

If you have a comment or suggestion about how we could do better, we are always keen to hear your views. These are given to the manager(s) concerned to help them understand your views when they are developing, or planning, future services. Use our online "Speak Up, We're Listening" form to make your comment.

Giving a compliment

If we have done something that you like, we really appreciate you taking the time to tell us. Everyone likes to know if they have done something well and it helps us to know what you think is important. Compliments are always acknowledged and passed onto the person concerned. Use our online "Speak Up, We're Listening" form to send us your compliment.

How to make a complaint

If you are unhappy with something we have done, or failed to do for you, we will always try to put things right. We hope that in most cases your problem or complaint can be sorted out directly with the member staff providing your service.

You can tell the person you think is responsible for your care, such as your social worker, carer, team leader, manager or support worker. They should tell you how they are going to sort things out for you.
You can do it yourself or get someone (maybe a friend, a relative or another worker) to help you, or do it for you.
You can make your views known in person at any City Council office that is open to the public.

Who can help you?

If you feel you need help to express your concerns it is sometimes a good idea to talk to someone you know before you tell us. It can help to sort out your thoughts and decide what you want to say and how you want to say it.

If you're not sure who you can trust, you could talk to an organisation such as Age Concern, or the Council of Disabled People or Coventry Carer's Centre (e-mail: contactus@coventrycarers.org.uk) first. Grapevine (e-mail: grapevine.the@talk21.com), Coventry Mind or Age Concern.

You can use our corporate online "Speak Up, We're Listening" form to make your complaint. Whichever way you choose to make your complaint or comment you will not be disadvantaged in any way.

What if you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint?

You can tell the Customer Relations Team by:

sending a letter
telephoning, using minicom / typetalk
sending an e-mail
faxing a letter/message

Please use the contact details at the bottom of this page to get in touch with us.

Can I complain if I'm not receiving a service?

If you do not use Social Care services but are affected in some way by our work and have cause for complaint, please tell the Customer Relations Team, and they will respond to your concerns - e-mail: ss.ccc.team@coventry.gov.uk

Things you may want to complain about

These are some of the things you may want to complain about:

if we do not deliver a service on time;
if you receive a poor quality service - including services arranged by us, but are delivered by an independent care service;
the attitude or behaviour of our employees;
your assessment, care plan or the review of your services;
decisions you do not agree with;
the level of service we provide, the cost of it, or how often you receive it;
changes to your service or care plan;
the effect of our policies on you and your services; or
how our assessment and eligibility criteria affect you and your services

Note - This is not an exhaustive list. If you complain about something that happened or a decision made more than 12 months ago, we may not accept your complaint. If not we will write and tell you why.

Can I complain someone else's behalf?

Yes you can, but the Council will need to make sure the service user is happy for you to do this and where a service user is not able to do this, the Council would need to decide whether or not it would be in their best interests.

Information you need to give us:

give your name, address, and phone number;
give the full name and address of the person you represent if you are complaining on behalf of someone else;
tell us what the complaint is; and
tell us how you would like us to put it right
if you have already reported your concerns, tell us who you raised them with, and when;
if you need an interpreter, tell us your language and we can arrange it for you.

Follow the link to read the most recent annual Comments, Compliments and Complaints Report for Community Services.

The three stages for making a complaint about social care services

The Statutory Complaints Procedure has three stages:

Stage One – Informal Resolution

Receiving your complaint: after we receive your complaint, we will send you a letter to either tell you what has been done to sort things out, or who will be looking into things for you. That person will then contact you, initially to clarify your concerns and also later on to let you know what they have found and what will happen.

How long it takes: we try to sort things out as quickly as possible, ideally within 10 days, and sometimes it can be quicker. However, if it is complicated, it can take longer, we will let you know if we think this is likely to be the case, and agree a reasonable extension time with you.

Stage Two – Formal Investigation

If you are not satisfied with the response at Stage One you can contact the Customer Relations Team (CRT) for Adults and Older People's services, and tell them about your concerns. If you need help to make your complaint the CRT will be happy to assist you, or you may prefer to have an independent advocate or another person of your choice.

Acknowledgement: you will receive an acknowledgement within three days. Advising you of your options at Stage Two. These are: a formal investigation of your complaint or an alternative means of resolving the dispute, such as Mediation or re-assessment.

A formal investigation: this is a thorough process involving the gathering of information and the determination of the issues, by an independent investigating officer.
Independent Investigation Officer: this person is appointed to investigate your complaint in a fair and thorough way. They will need access to your personal details, contained in records held by Coventry City Council. If you have any concerns/ objections to this you would need to inform the CRT.

Investigation Report: once the investigation is complete, the investigating officer will report to an Adjudication Officer who will send you a copy of the report and the Council's response to it. This should only take up to 25 working days after your complaint is confirmed. However, if there are a number of elements to your complaint, or a lot of people involved, this may impact on the time-scale and we may need to agree an extension with you.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

There are various methods of resolving a complaint that do not require a full investigation, such as: practical action specific to the complaint, provision of assurances e.g. monitoring the effectiveness of the remedy, consideration of financial payment, re-assessment, explanations or apologies, conciliation or mediation. The local authority will explore these options if they have the agreement of the complainant and the Complaints Manager.

Mediation

Mediation is a future focused process in which an impartial third party (mediator) helps the complainant and Council representative to express their issues and, together, work out how to resolve the issue. The ultimate aim is to reach a binding agreement, the terms of which are decided by the mediating parties. The aim of mediation is to reach a 'win/win' situation. Further details about this process can be provided by the Customer Relations Team.

Adjudication officer

Following a formal investigation, an Adjudication Officer is appointed to receive the report and provide the Council's response. This is a senior manager responsible for the service complained about. The Adjudication Officer is also responsible for ensuring that any recommendations are implemented.

Stage Three: Independent Review Panel

The Review Panel hears the ongoing Stage Two complaint and the earlier attempts to resolve it. The panel then considers whether Coventry City Council has adequately dealt with the complaint. It is important to note that they will not re-investigate a complaint, or consider new complaints. To take a complaint to panel it has to have been investigated or dealt with by alternative means at Stage Two, first. A panel is set up within 30 working days of the request.

Who is on the panel?

It consists of an independent chair and two panellists. At least one panellist is independent, and the other may be a city councillor.

Attending the Panel

You can attend and give written/verbal statements to support your views, and bring someone with you if you wish, but you cannot bring a legal representative to act in the capacity of solicitor.

Panel Recommendations

These are sent to the Director of Community Services and yourself within five working days after the panel meeting.. The Director will respond to them in writing within 15 working days of his receiving the Panel's recommendations.

How did it work for you?

After any attempts to resolve complaints are completed we like to hear how well the process worked individuals. We normally make do this by sending out a questionnaire with a reply paid envelope.

The Local Government Ombudsman

Anyone with a complaint against a Local Authority has the right to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman. A booklet explaining how to do this is available from:

Local Government Ombudsman
10th Floor, Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP
Helpline: 0845 6021983
Website: www.lgo.org.uk

You can approach the Ombudsman at any stage but he/she will expect you to have used the Council's own procedures first.

Your local councillor

You may wish to contact your local councillor who will raise the matter on your behalf. You can find out the name of your councillor by telephoning the number below, or using our search facility. The address to write to your councillor is:

Member's Services
Coventry City Council
Council House, Earl Street
Coventry CV1 5RR
Telephone: 024 7683 1039

Your MP

You also have the right to contact your MP if you wish to do so. You can write to your MP at the following address:

House of Commons
London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 4272

You can also find out which parliamentary constituency you live in, and who your MP is, by using our search facility or telephone House of Commons Information Office on the number above.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI)

The Commission for Social Care Inspection is now responsible for the inspection and registration of the following services:

Care homes, including care homes with nursing
Domiciliary Care agencies
Independent health care establishments
Adult Placement Scheme

We will involve the CSCI with your permission if your complaint is about any of the above services. You can contact CSCI direct if you wish.

Working with partner agencies

Social Care services work in partnership with other agencies such as health services, housing, schools, the Police and voluntary organisations. If the issue you raise relates to one of our partner agencies we will tell you how you can get in touch with them if it is appropriate.

Mental Health Services

Complaints about Mental Health Social Work Services are initially handled by the Mental Health and Social Care Trusts. If the complaint is not resolved at Stage one, then the social care aspect of the complaint will be logged in either the Statutory Complaints Procedure or the Corporate Complaints Procedure, whichever is most appropriate.

Contact details:

Customer Relations Team Planning and Administration
Community Services
Coventry City Council
Council Offices
Coventry
CV1 5RS
Telephone: 024 7683 3420
Fax: 024 7683 2451
e-mail: ss.ccc.team@coventry.gov.uk

Downloadable documents

About PDFs and Accessibility

3 C's - Annual Report for Community Services (2006/2007) (414 kb)

Coventry City Council