Complaining about neglect in care home

[jackiek]

Hi everyone. I am looking for some advice. My mom has vascular dementia and 7 weeks ago went into short term care which was meant to become full time permanent at this particular home. Things did not work out and we finally have got mom into a much better home.

During my moms stay at the other place, she was neglected in various ways and I am going to make a complaint regarding this. But where is the best place to complain to? The home were never interested, making excuse after excuse and her care just got worse the more we asked.

So if anyone can give me any advice it would be most welcome

 

[2jays]

During my moms stay at the other place, she was neglected in various ways and I am going to make a complaint regarding this. But where is the best place to complain to? The home were never interested, making excuse after excuse and her care just got worse the more we asked.

Only things I can think of is contact (by phone) Alzheimers Society or citizens advice or CQC for advice on how to complain I am sure others will have better ideas and will be along as soon as they can

Julia

 

[Chelonian]

So if anyone can give me any advice it would be most welcome

Hello jackiek,

I have ongoing issues with my father’s care so I sympathise.

I assume from reading your post that the issue you have is with your mother’s previous home? I hope that you are happier with her present home.

My complaints follow the "official" route when the home is either not receptive or indeed obstructive to a direct complaint to management. Some homes (not all) try to fob off complaints with platitudes. Most complainants give up at this point.

The Care Quality Commission (UK telephone number 03000 616161) can give you general advice on making a complaint about a home.

If you choose to identify the home to CQC it will log your verbal complaint and give you a unique reference number.

I was advised to make my complaint in writing to my father’s home because it is easy for a home to fob you off with platitudes. Try to be as specific as you can about instances of neglect. If you have a CQC reference number, include it in all correspondence with the home about the issue. Copy letters to CQC; if you speak with CQC it will tell you how to do this.

It may also be worth contacting your local care trust. Again, follow up a verbal complaint with a letter or an email. My experience is that (sadly) written complaints receive swifter responses than verbal complaints.

Hopefully, someone with more experience than I will be along soon to offer advice.

Good luck!

Chelonian

 

[Keely]

most local authorities have a contracts and intelligence unit - the departments tend to vary in title. If the local authority have the home on thier list or your parent recieved LA funding while in the home it is useful to complain to the Local Authority. The idea is that if people raise concerns or complains profile can be complied and the home should then come under scrutiny. If your complaint is serious case of neglect it should come under scrutiny just by the one complaint from you. I would also copy a letter of the complaint to the home and the CE of the company who owns the home. The local Alzhiemers should also be interested as in some areas a representative sits on LA and PCT committees. Good Luck with it and for what its worth I think we have a duty to raise these issues both for our loved ones and for those that have no one to advocate for them.

 

[jackiek]

Yes it is with my moms previous home. Mom was taken to hospital after a fall, they contacted us while we were there to tell us we couldn't bring her back and that the social services at the hospital would find her somewhere else to live! They had to take her back and that was the start of the problems.

To be honest I wasn't going to complain to the home. I brought up some things and was never given a satisfactory answer. They dismissed anything i brought up, or simply said they didn't know. Because I had an arguement with the care manager, when they tried to make mom homeless, they didn't seem to want to know.

Do I really need to complain to the care home? To be honest I don't want to give them any time to prepare if my complaint is investigated. I also happen to know that social services are looking into other areas there, some relating to my mom, some to what has been witnessed by others.

Mom is now in a wonderful home, the staff are brilliant, the place is purpose built and she is more settled now than I have seen her in a long time. They have even got her walking again, something the other home never bothered to try. so yes we are very lucky, chelonian, I hope you get things sorted too x

 

[Chelonian]

Firstly, I am really pleased that you are happy with your mother's present home. That is so important.

You clearly have serious concerns about the previous home and I agree with Keely that we have a duty to express our concerns.

Multiple concerns are sometimes best addressed one at a time. I am in currently in conflict with my father’s nursing care home about a medication issue. My approach is to formally express a concern and ask specific questions in writing. It is harder for a care home or indeed a local care trust to fob you off when documentary evidence exists of your concerns. It is very important to be specific with questions.

As an example, I recently wrote to my father’s nursing care home requesting:

1. What was the clinical decision that made you change my father’s drug dosage on (date)?

2. Why did the nurse in charge (name) tell me on (date) that no changes had been made to my father’s drug dosage?

If you have a CQC reference number (as mentioned in my earlier post) include it in your letter to the home. If you do not receive a reply within a reasonable time, write a polite reminder and if necessary, another and another. Grind them down with politeness if they are obstructive!

Good luck!

Chelonian