What the Ombudsman investigates in adult social care

We investigate all complaints about adult care services. It does not matter if your care is provided by a council or paid for yourself.

We can look at complaints about:

• care provided by a council
• care arranged directly with a care provider by:
  • someone paying with their own or family money
  • someone using money provided by a council, via direct payment for example

If you are thinking of complaining to us please read our step by step process to making a complaint.

Definition of Adult Social Care

Adult social care includes all forms of personal care and practical assistance provided for people in need, aged 18 and over. This could be because of age, illness, disability, or a range of other circumstances.

Difference between the Ombudsman and the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission is the independent health and adult social care regulator. We have different roles.

We look at:

• individual complaints when something has gone wrong

The CQC:

• Monitors, inspects and regulates health and care services to ensure they meet standards of quality and safety.

We are independent of each other but work closely to share information where appropriate, for example if we find things that might be a sign of a failure of standards. If you are unsure whether you have an issue for us or CQC, please contact us and we will either help you with your complaint or put you in touch with CQC directly.