We aim to provide high quality adult social care services to the people of North Yorkshire. You can help to make our services even better by telling us what we are doing well, what we can do better and what we are doing wrong.

Your complaints, compliments and comments are taken seriously and can help us to improve our services and plan for the future. You can find out how to make a complaint, compliment or comment below.

This page is split into the following sections:

• Alternative formats
• Providing compliments, making comments or raising concerns
• How to complain
• What will happen when I make a complaint?
• What if I am unhappy with the response?
• Complaints about independent care providers
• Contacting the adult social care complaints manager

Alternative formats

The information below is also available in PDF and mp3 format.

 Compliments, complaints, comments and concerns in adult social care (PDF version) [349kb] [pdf]
 Compliments, complaints, comments and concerns in adult social care (audio version) [8mb] [audio]

Providing compliments, making comments or raising concerns

If you are happy with any part of the service you receive please let us know. We are always pleased to hear about our services working well.

We would also like to hear from you if you have a comment or suggestion on how we can improve our service, or if you would just like to talk to someone about your concerns.

For any of these, you can either:

• Contact the adult social care complaints manager;
• Fill in the form attached to the  Compliments, complaints, comments and concerns in adult social care leaflet [349kb] [pdf]; or
• Talk to a member of staff.

How to complain

If you are unhappy about a service we provide or the care we have arranged for you, please tell us and we will try to sort out the problem. A complaint may be made about anything, for example, a service not being available; the quality of a service; the attitude of staff; how decisions were made; or a delay in dealing with your problem or providing a service.

Making a complaint will not affect your right to receive our services. If you would like a relative, friend or advocate to make a complaint on your behalf we will need your agreement and consent to share information with them. Or, you can ask someone to support you to make the complaint yourself.

We aim to resolve complaints as quickly and informally as possible. If you are able to talk to the managers who deliver your service, this is often the quickest and best way to get a problem resolved. If you do not feel able to do this, are not sure who to speak to or you are unhappy with the response from the local manager you can contact the complaints manager, using the details below.

Over 95 per cent of the complaints we receive are resolved informally by discussing the problem with a member of staff. The managers and staff work hard to ensure complaints are responded to quickly and resolved at this stage wherever possible.

What will happen when I make a complaint?

When you contact us we will need to know what has happened and what you think should be done to put things right. We will contact you about the best way to deal with your complaint and how quickly we will be able to reply to you.

What if I am unhappy with the response?

If you are not satisfied with the response you have received from us you can contact us again to see if there is any other way of resolving your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the final decision or the way we have dealt with your complaint you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman.

You can also contact the Ombudsman for advice at any time. They will usually ask us to investigate your complaint first if we have not had the opportunity to try to resolve your concerns. You can contact them at:

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH

Telephone: 0845 602 1983
E-mail: advice@lgo.org.uk  
Web: www.lgo.org.uk

Complaints about independent care providers

If your complaint is about a private care home or agency you should contact them in the first instance as they will have their own complaints procedure to follow. If you are unhappy about their response and your care has been arranged and funded by health and adult services, we may be able to look into your complaint further.

The Care Quality Commission inspects and reports on social care services. You can contact them for information and advice at:

Care Quality Commission National Correspondence
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE1 4PA

Telephone: 03000 616161
E-mail: enquiries@cqc.org.uk  
Web: www.cqc.org.uk  

Contacting the adult social care complaints manager

Use the details below to contact the adult social care complaints manager. There is also a free answerphone service you can use.

Free answerphone: 0800 515875

Useful downloads Compliments, complaints, comments and concerns in adult social care [349kb] [pdf] Help us get it right. Please tell us your views about adult social care services provided by North Yorkshire County Council. Your comments can help us to improve our services and plan for the future. Compliments, complaints, comments and concerns in adult social care [8Mb] [audio] An audio version of the compliments, complaints, comments and concerns in adult social care leaflet. The file is just over seven minutes long.   Weblinks Please note: All external websites open in a new browser window and NYCC is not responsible for the content of external websites. Local Government Ombudsman The Local Government Ombudsman looks at complaints about councils and some other authorities and organisations, including education admissions appeal panels and adult social care providers (such as care homes and home care providers). The service is free. The Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. They regulate health and adult social care services, whether provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations.