Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Rise in complaints about adult social care

Home care
Home care

Complaints about care provided in people’s homes rose by a quarter over the last year, while those about care homes increased by a fifth, a new report says.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) received 2,969 complaints and enquiries about adult social care in 2015/16, up 6% on the previous year.

Of those, there was a 21% rise in complaints about residential care homes, while complaints about home care rose by 25%.

The report comes after the King’s Fund warned earlier this week that councils could face legal challenges from families for failing to provide good quality and appropriate care to the disabled and elderly.

The LGO found themes across the complaints it received on home care, including staff failing to turn up, being late, not staying long enough or cancelling visits

Some people received visits from too many different carers, while there was also poor record-keeping.

When it came to residential care, the LGO found one patient with dementia ended up dehydrated because he was not given enough to drink. Medical attention was then delayed because the care home had not registered him with a GP.

The report said: “When the provider responded to David’s daughter, who made the complaint on his behalf, the explanations about the care her father had received could not be backed up by records or other evidence.”

The report said the rising number of complaints about social care “may be indicative of the pressures the sector is experiencing”.

It added: “We know that there are significant and increasing pressures on all areas of adult social care, and not least the home care market.

“Problems with recruitment and retention of staff, the introduction of the national living wage, and underfunded and over-stretched services have been well documented.”

The report said the complaints revealed that the quality of care delivered to people “often falls below the standard expected”.

It said that funding pressures “do not excuse poor practice”, adding: “Respect for individual preferences around food and drink, what to wear and when to get up and go to bed are important to any individual and become emphasised when a person is not able to do these things independently.”

Of the 2,969 complaints received during the year, the LGO investigated 1,115 and upheld 58% overall, up on 55% the year before.

LGO Dr Jane Martin said: “Our complaints show that for people receiving care in their homes, it’s often the little things that mean so much to them in maintaining their dignity, independence and a good quality of life. Consistency of care is vital to those who rely on these services.

“We recognise the sector’s work signposting people to us may have had an impact on the number of complaints we received. However, we are still upholding nearly two thirds of home care complaints. This is too many.”

Janet Morrison, chief executive of older people’s charity Independent Age, said: “The sharp increase in complaints about adult social care is yet more evidence of a system in crisis.

“Home care is an incredibly important part of making sure that someone is able to retain their independence and stay in their own home. Inadequate home care can mean that older people lose the support they need for day-to-day tasks such as dressing or washing, and may be left to suffer in silence.

“This rise in complaints is the consequence of a care sector that is stretched to breaking point, with workforce gaps and a shortfall in funding impacting on the care many older people receive.”


READ MORE

Veterans express gratitude for Erskine charity support as it marks a century of care

12 days of care home hell: Woman with dementia fell twice and needed surgery after short stay