How to Complain About a Care Home: Your Rights and How to Be Heard

Topic cluster: Finding & Choosing a Care Home | Reading time: 6 min

When something goes wrong in a care home — or simply falls short of what was promised — knowing how to complain effectively can make a real difference. The complaints process is there to protect residents and their families. Using it assertively and constructively is entirely appropriate.

Your Right to Complain

Every care home registered in England must have a complaints procedure. This is a legal requirement under the Care Quality Commission's fundamental standards. You have the right to:

Raise a complaint about any aspect of your parent's care
Do so without fear of your parent being treated differently as a result
Receive a timely, written response
Escalate if you are not satisfied with the outcome

Step 1: Raise It Informally First

Many issues can be resolved quickly with a direct conversation. If something is wrong:

Speak to the key worker, senior carer, or nurse on duty
If they cannot resolve it, ask to speak to the registered manager
Be specific about what happened, when, and what you would like done about it
Follow up with a short email to create a written record of the conversation

Informal resolution is often the fastest and least confrontational route. A well-managed home will take your concern seriously and act promptly.

Step 2: Make a Formal Written Complaint

If informal discussion does not resolve the issue, submit a formal complaint in writing (email or letter). Address it to the registered manager.

Your complaint should include:

Your name, relationship to the resident, and contact details
The name of the resident
A clear, factual account of what happened — dates, times, names where known
What you would like as an outcome
A request for a written response within a specified timeframe (14 days is reasonable)

The home is required by law to acknowledge your complaint promptly and respond in full.

Step 3: Escalate to the Care Home Provider

If the home is part of a larger group, escalate to the regional director or complaints department of the provider organisation. Their details should be in the contract or on the home's website.

Step 4: Contact the Local Authority (If Funded by the Council)

If your parent's care is funded in whole or in part by the local authority, you can also raise your concern with the council's adult social care team. The council has a responsibility for the quality of care it commissions.

Step 5: Complain to the CQC

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not handle individual complaints and will not mediate between you and the care home. However, it does accept concerns from families — and these are taken into account when homes are next inspected.

You can raise a concern with the CQC at cqc.org.uk. Include as much factual detail as possible. This is separate from your complaint to the home itself and should be done in parallel, not instead of the formal complaints process.

Step 6: The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

If you have exhausted the care home's own complaints process and remain unsatisfied, you can refer your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). The Ombudsman investigates complaints about adult social care, including care homes (whether council-funded or self-funded).

Contact: lgo.org.uk or call 0300 061 0614.

The Ombudsman can require care homes to apologise, take action, and — in some cases — pay compensation.

Safeguarding: When to Report Separately

If you believe your parent has been abused, neglected, or is at risk of harm, this is a safeguarding concern and requires immediate action:

Contact the local council's adult safeguarding team (every council has one — find via your local council's website)
Call the police if you believe a crime has been committed (physical assault, theft, financial abuse)
Call the CQC to raise a concern about unsafe care (cqc.org.uk or 03000 616161)

Safeguarding concerns are handled separately and urgently, independently of the standard complaints process.

If You Want to Move Your Parent

If you have lost confidence in a care home and wish to move your parent, you can do so. See our guide on Changing Care Homes for the process involved.

Tips for Complaining Effectively

Keep notes — date, time, what was observed, who you spoke to, what was said
Write, don't just call — a paper trail is valuable if the matter escalates
Be specific — vague complaints are easier to dismiss than precise factual accounts
Stay focused on outcomes — what do you actually want to change?
Don't delay — raise concerns as soon as they arise; delay weakens your case

Supporting Organisations

Carers UK — carersuk.org — advice and advocacy for carers
Age UK — ageuk.org.uk — support and information for older people and families
Citizens Advice — citizensadvice.org.uk — free, impartial advice on rights
Advocacy organisations — your parent has the right to an independent advocate; ask the council

Find higher-rated care homes in your area at homeformum.com