People regret not raising concerns about their care – but those who do raise concerns see improvements.
New research has found that almost 7 million people who have used health or social care services, in the last five years, have had concerns about their care but never raised them. Of these, over half (58%) expressed regret about not doing so.
The most common reasons for not raising a concern were:
- not knowing how (20%) or who (33%) to raise it with
- not wanting to be seen as a 'troublemaker' (33%)
- worries about not being taken seriously (28%)
- feeling that nothing would change as a result (37%).
However, when people did raise a concern or complaint, the majority (66%) found their issue was resolved quickly, it helped the service to improve and they were happy with the outcome.
Have your say
Your experiences of care supports our monitoring, inspecting and rating of services.
We want you to give us feedback on the care you have been given or have seen - not only poor care but good care too.
#DeclareYourCare campaign
Join the conversation on Instagram and Twitter using the #DeclareYourCare hashtag.
What to do about poor care
1. Contact the service provider
If you or a loved one experiences poor care, you should contact the service provider first. By law, all care services must have a complaints procedure.
If you are unhappy with the response, there are further steps you can take.
2. Tell us
This will help us understand how well a particular service cares for the people who use it.
We cannot support you with a complaint to the provider or take it up on your behalf. Your information will help us to protect others from having the same experience.
Find out about what we want to know and why.
Find out more
Campaign resources
Download posters and social media graphics for declare your care
Declare Your Care: infographic
Survey data
Declare Your Care: Survey results data
Join the conversation
Join the conversation on Instagram and Twitter using the #DeclareYourCare hashtag.