Question 59
How do I complain about a care home to the CQC?
The CQC registers and inspects care homes but does not investigate individual complaints on behalf of residents or families. To get a complaint resolved, raise it first with the care home manager in writing. If unresolved, use the home's formal complaints procedure. If council-funded care is involved and still unresolved, escalate to the council. For self-funded residents, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can investigate. You should also submit a concern to the CQC via their website — they use concerns to inform inspection decisions even though they will not resolve your individual complaint. Doing both is the right approach.
Submitting a concern to the CQC and making a formal complaint are two separate things — do both, but understand that only the complaints process will resolve your individual situation.
What changes the answer
- Whether the concern is about care quality, safety or management
- Whether the home is council-funded or self-funded
- Whether the issue has been raised directly with the home already