These are challenging times for the care home sector. With the UK's population ageing and a decade of public sector cuts, the industry is straining to support the elderly and their families. Care home closures and reduced resources for the care of over 410,000 people* living in care homes creates an extra weight of demand on existing care homes. 

It is always a tough decision for the residents and their representatives to enter care, and some have difficulty settling. According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Care Homes Market Study, many decisions to enter care are made when a person falls ill. At this stressful time, the exact needs of the cared for, and the facilities a particular care home provides, are not always fully considered by the potential resident and their representatives. Once entering into a care home which may not suit the resident, it is incredibly stressful for residents and their representatives to organise a move to a more suitable facility. The CMA found that many residents and their representatives found it difficult to make complaints directly to the care home, and perceived the complaints process to be unclear, complicated and confusing.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have collaborated to produce a guide for registered managers and care home owners on complaints procedures. Written by experts in consumer law, this free guide is essential reading for anyone running a care home in the UK today. 

You may download a digital copy of the guide here and CTSI will be exhibiting at the Dementia Care & Nursing Home Expo on 9th & 10th November at the Birmingham NEC.

*Figure quoted from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Care Homes Market Study

Editor's note - the CMA report may be found here