If you have an urgent safeguarding concern please contact Adult Social Care on 0345 045 5202 or by using the online adult at risk form immediately.
Who is this page for?
This page is for people who wish to make a complaint about Adults Social Care services in Cambridgeshire. It outlines the statutory Adult Social Care complaints policy, the steps taken when a complaint is made and response times.
Other types of feedback
We strive to deliver high-quality service and appreciate your feedback regarding adult social care. If you would like to make a suggestion or give positive feedback, please visit our provide feedback page.
Complaint overview
The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 underline the importance of allowing flexibility in designing person-centred ways of resolving people’s concerns and complaints. Cambridgeshire County Council’s Adults Social Care Statutory complaints Policy (opens as PDF) provides detailed information on how complaints are processed.
We want to remove barriers for our customers when making contact with the Council, including if you are disabled, neurodivergent, or have a physical or mental health condition. To help, reasonable adjustments can be asked for at any time and requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. View our full reasonable adjustments for customers policy.
How to submit a complaint
We recognise that occasionally issues may arise, and we value awareness of any concerns as part of our ongoing commitment to service excellence.
Most problems are resolved by speaking to the person you are dealing with or their manager. If your concerns cannot be resolved through these channels, you can raise a formal complaint about adult social care services using the methods below:
Online
Complete our online form.
By telephone or in-person
If you have the contact details for a named officer or team, they can help you to provide feedback if you need assistance. Alternatively, you can contact the Adults Health and Commissioning Customer Care Team on 01223 703535.
If you would like to do this in person, you can be supported to provide feedback at Awdry House, Wisbech or New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald. Staff at our libraries can also support you in completing the online form.
By post
In writing to Adults Health and Commissioning, Customer Care Team, Scott House, Box 2116, 5 George Street, Huntingdon, PE29 3AD.
Things to know before you make a complaint
- Complaints need to be made within 12 months of the date on which the subject of the complaint occurred.
- If you are making the complaint on behalf of someone else, we may require their written consent to share their personal information with you.
- We will not usually take a complaint if the issue is already being considered by:
- An investigation under the disciplinary procedure (e.g. Local Authority ‘Disciplinary Policy and Procedure’)
- An investigation by one of the professional regulatory bodies
- An investigation of a possible criminal offence
- An investigation under the Safeguarding Adults procedure
- Legal proceedings or a claim for financial compensation.
Who can complain
- Any person in receipt of adult social care services.
- A person acting on behalf of another, where the person themselves has requested someone to be their representative and has provided consent for them to do so.
- People paying for and arranging their own care should contact their care provider with any concerns. If they are not satisfied with the response, they can escalate the complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
Complaints process
After you submit an Adult Social Care complaint, the Customer Care Team will:
- Acknowledge receipt of your concerns within 3 working days
- Obtain details of your complaint and your desired outcomes
- Explain the process and what to expect
- Coordinate an investigation into your concerns with relevant staff
- Provide you with a response in writing in accordance with the timescales set out with the statutory The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009. We will inform you of the expected completion date at the start of our investigation.
If you remain dissatisfied
Advise the Customer Care Team why you are dissatisfied. Next steps to address your concerns can be considered, for example:
- Initiating a new complaint for concerns not included in the original one
- Offering you an initial or additional meeting
- Coordinating a further complaint response if all issues have not been addressed or more detail is required.
- A senior manager reviewing your complaint and any proposed actions taken in response.
- Signposting you to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
For the full policy and process, please read Adults Social Care complaints policy (opens as PDF).
Can I submit a complaint anonymously?
Yes. We accept anonymous complaints through all methods of communication. We will ensure these are passed to the relevant services to investigate and undertake any identified actions. However, due to the anonymous nature of such complaints, we will be unable to provide a response unless a contact email or postal address is provided.
Whistleblowing
The Council’s Whistleblowing Policy can be used by anyone with a concern about potential wrongdoing to bring that issue to the Council’s attention with confidence that they will be listened to. Raising concerns or speaking up about wrongdoing is known as whistleblowing. If you wish to raise a specific whistleblowing issue, or if you are not sure what is the best route for reporting your concerns, you can email the dedicated whistleblowing email address: whistleblowing@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
Confidentiality in the process
We will maintain the confidentiality of all personal information and only disclose it to other relevant parties with your permission or if we are otherwise legally obliged to do so. However, if we are informed of anything that makes us think that an individual is unsafe or at risk of being harmed, we will pass this on to the appropriate authority or service for action. Having your personal details helps us work with you in the best way through our feedback processes, however if you wish to make the complaint anonymously, please discuss this with a member of staff or our Customer Care Team. If you are raising an issue on behalf of someone else, we reserve the right to inform that person that you have contacted us.
Unreasonable behaviour
Most complaints we resolve through the procedures outlined above. Occasionally, customers may pursue complaints in ways which are unhelpful. Our customer handling policy describes how we may deal with customers where the customer is unreasonably persistent or otherwise acts unreasonably.
