How to make a complaint about Adult Social Care services

If you are not happy with the service that you receive from Adult Social Care at Newcastle City Council, or if you feel that something has gone wrong, the council needs to know. Your feedback helps them to assess and improve the services they provide.

How to make a complaint

You can speak to a member of staff if you are unhappy about the service you have received. This could be your social worker or the person who you spoke to in Adult Social Care. You can ask to speak to their manager if this doesn’t help. Or you can contact Adult Social Care at Newcastle City Council.

They will try to sort out the problem straightaway if they can, without you needing to do anything else. If this is not possible, they will begin a complaints process.

If you still feel that you need to make a complaint, you can contact the Adult Social Care Complaints and Customer Relations at Newcastle City Council

The Social Services Statutory Complaints Procedure

Most complaints made to Adult Services are governed by the ‘Social Services Statutory Complaints Procedure’. This is different to the City Council’s own corporate complaints procedure, which they use to deal with any other complaints they receive.

You will always be told which complaints procedure is being used and what you can expect from it.

Examples of statutory complaints to Adult Services are:

a service not being delivered on time
receiving a poor-quality service
problems with staff attitudes or behaviour
problems with your assessment, care plan or the review of your services
decisions that you don’t agree with
the level of service provided or how often you receive it
the cost of your services
changes to your services or care plan

All complaints are confidential. Other staff are only informed of a complaint if needed. For example, to investigate your complaint.

How to make a complaint

You can complain by email, telephone, letter or by filling out and returning the complaints form on the Adult Social Care website.

After receiving your complaint, the team will send you a letter explaining what will happen next.

Help to make a complaint

If you are not comfortable making the complaint yourself, you can ask a friend or relative to contact Adult Social Care for you.

You can ask an independent person or organisation for advice. They may be able to act on your behalf. These services include:

an independent advocacy service can help you to get your voice heard
your local Councillor or MP
Citizens Advice Newcastle
a solicitor

The Local Government Ombudsman looks at complaints about councils and other authorities. It is a free service. Their job is to investigate complaints in a fair and independent way. If you have a problem with a council service, you should first complain to the council. But if you are still not satisfied, you can make a complaint on their website, by phone or post.

If your complaint is about an NHS health service, you need to make a complaint to the NHS. Help is available to complain or raise any concerns.

Advocacy help to get your voice heard

Advocacy is free, independent support to help you to get your voice heard. Advocacy services pair you up with an independent advocate who is on your side if you need support. They can:

help you to find information
talk things through with you to find out what you want
support you to get your views across at appointments and meetings
help you to understand your rights

How to make a good complaint

You can read more on InformationNOW about how to make a good complaint. You can find tips on how to make a complaint in person, by phone, online or by email. You can also find a list of independent organisations, who can help you to make a complaint.

Compliments and feedback

Compliments are positive feedback or comments that you would like to give about a service or a member of staff. You can send any compliments to Adult Social Care Complaints and Customer Relations at Newcastle City Council, your social worker or Adult Social Care.

Last updated: June 7, 2024