We are offering care providers the chance to meet the Ombudsman Michael King, at our provider events which will be held in February and March 2019.

We are holding events in Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and London. They follow on from our inaugural sessions which were a great success two years ago.

We are currently developing the programme for the sessions so please do let us know if there are areas you would like us to cover.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Book a place

Sometimes what our complainants want most is an apology for the injustice they have suffered.

When one woman fell in her care home and there was a delay in seeking emergency medical attention, her family was hugely distressed because the care provider was evasive about the reason for the delay.

In another case, a care provider failed to notice an error in its care plan which led to a loss of service for a man - we should not have had to ask for it to apologise to him.

An early, genuine apology goes a long way towards meeting a client’s expectations.

Read more

We respond to CMA Guidance for care homes

The Competition and Markets Authority has today published new advice for care homes setting out their responsibilities under consumer law.

We welcome the guidance, and the emphasis it puts on good complaint systems, that are easy to find and use. The guidance echoes things we have highlighted in recent reports - especially ensuring contracts are fair, clear and transparent. 

See our response

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 are clear: medication must be accurately administered (Regulation 12); and records must be fit for purpose (Regulation 17).

Anyone administering medication should clearly and legibly record this on the daily care log and the MAR chart. If a box is left blank it creates uncertainty about whether the medication was administered. This may lead us to find fault if we receive a complaint.

Inconsistencies in recording could be fault because the records do not paint an accurate picture of what medication was given. If a client refuses medication, this should also be clearly recorded.

We may recommend a provider reimburses costs a service user incurs as a direct result of fault.

In a case, soon to be published on our website, a care provider decided to put 24 hour 1:1 care in place for a resident. However, the provider failed to tell the family or support its decision with an assessment.

The provider could not evidence why the resident needed 24 hour 1:1 care and charged the resident for both their assessed residential care and the 1:1 care.

The provider's fault caused the injustice of a quantifiable loss of the 1:1 care portion of the fees. Through our investigation, the provider agreed to write off the 1:1 care costs.

Search our decisions on care providers