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Adult social care complaints

Why you should tell us what you think

Your views are important to us. We want you to tell us what we can do better to help us improve our services.

Making a complaint

We will always aim to deliver the best possible service but sometimes things go wrong or we may fail to meet your expectations. Making a complaint does not mean that you will receive less help from us in future or that your complaint will cause difficulties for you. We can learn a lot from complaints so we encourage all of your feedback.

Who should you contact?

Contact the person or team that delivers the service you wish to complain about.

Fill in our online customer complaint form below. View our Adult Social Care (ASC) Listening to your views leaflet (PDF) or our ASC Listening to your views - Easy Read leaflet (PDF).

Adult Social Care Complaint Form

or contact the Adult Social Care Customer Relations Team at:

Who can complain?

Anyone who has received a service, or is currently receiving a service or seeking a service from us.

You can complain either on your own or with help from someone else such as a friend, a relative or someone who can speak on your behalf. However, we may need to confirm your agreement to another person speaking for you.

Services paid for with direct payments

If you want to complain about a service you bought with a direct payment, you need to complain to the service provider directly.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or the Care Quality Commission may be able to help you with this.

What happens next?

When you contact us with your complaint, we will try to sort out the problem quickly to resolve the matter.

If the complaint cannot be addressed quickly, we will register and acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days from the date it is received. We may contact you to discuss your concerns further and agree a plan of investigation. You should receive a response to your complaint within 20 working days from when we receive your complaint.

The person handling your complaint will carry out an investigation into your concerns and respond to you directly (or through your advocate/representative if you prefer). For complex complaints, we may need more time to investigate and respond to you. If this is the case, we will keep you informed.

If you are not satisfied with the complaint response, you can contact the person leading on the complaint to discuss your concerns further. Alternatively, you can contact the Customer Relations Team for advice and assistance.

Who can I contact for further help and advice?

If you are still unhappy and we are not able to resolve your concerns to your satisfaction, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to review the way we have dealt with your complaint. Their contact details are:

How can I appeal against a social care decision?

If you want to appeal against a decision that we have made, contact the social care team manager. Let them know your concerns and ask them to review the decision.

See ways you can contact Adult Social Care if you are unsure who to contact or need help.

Other helpful contacts

  • Care Quality Commission Telephone: 03000 616 161 or Textphone (via Relay UK): 18001 03000 616161
  • Healthwatch Surrey Telephone: 0303 303 0023 or Text (SMS): 07592 787 533 (for the deaf or hard of hearing)
  • Citizens Advice Telephone: 0800 144 8848 or Textphone (via Relay UK): 18001 0800 144 8848

Files available to download

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