Social Care Complaints by Adults

We want to make sure that the services we provide are always of a high quality. Sometimes however things may not be done to your satisfaction. If this happens we want to hear from you.

We have a procedure for dealing with complaints about the way social care services are arranged or provided. This is based on legal requirements which must be followed.

We take all complaints and comments about the services we provide seriously. It is by listening to users of our service and their carers that we can find out what people really think and how things might be improved. When someone makes a complaint, they can expect us to:

• Listen properly and take their views seriously
• Treat them with respect and courtesy
• Respond promptly
• Maintain confidentiality
• Inform them of what they may do if they remain dissatisfied

Sometimes it may be possible to deal with your complaint without using the formal complaints procedure. This way your complaint can be dealt with informally and very quickly. Your complaint will still be taken seriously and you will be told of the outcome of any investigation into your complaint. If we can resolve your complaint in this way, you will receive a letter which confirms that the matter has been resolved to your satisfaction.

If we cannot resolve your complaint in this way, you will be asked if you want your complaint dealt with using the formal complaints procedure. This has three stages:

Stage 1 - Local Resolution
Stage 2 - Investigation
Stage 3 - The Review Panel

Your Views about the Complaints Procedure Itself

We need to make sure that the procedure we have for dealing with complaints is helping those people who use it. We may therefore ask you for your views on the procedure itself or about the response to your complaint.

We do this because your views and opinions can help us to make improvements to what we do and how we do it.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this information.

Complaint - What Happens Now.pdf (18 pages, 268kb)

Confidentiality

We will not disclose any information about you without your consent unless it is to protect you or another person from harm or to prevent or detect crime.

Data Protection

Information on all complaints will be kept on computer. This will help us to monitor and improve our services. Recording of information in this way comes under the Data Protection Act 1998. More information about the Data Protection Act can be obtained from:

The Data Protection Officer
Durham County Council
Rivergreen Centre
Aykley Heads
Durham
DH1 5TS
Telephone: 0191 3708803
Textphone (Minicom): 0191 3833802

Data Protection