Dementia Support Line
Reviews and complaints in Wales
Over time, your circumstances and the person with dementia’s circumstances will change. Your local authority will arrange a review meeting to see whether the services you receive are still meeting both your needs.
Assessment for care and support in Wales
Reviews
Care and support plans must contain a review date. The date must be within 12 months of when the care plan was originally agreed. If the person’s needs have changed or it becomes clear that the support isn’t working before 12 months, you can request an early review.
There are different ways to get a review:
- A planned review is discussed and agreed in the initial care plan.
- An unplanned review is normally the result of a change in circumstances, such as a hospital admission or a fall that means the person is less able to do things.
- A requested review is where the person, you as their carer or a professional (for example, their GP) asks for a review. This may be due to a change in care needs, or when it is felt that different support is needed.
Complaints
If you need to make a complaint about the assessment process, it’s best to try and solve this with the person you’re in contact with, such as the social worker. An informal discussion may resolve a breakdown in communication or a misunderstanding.
If this doesn’t work, local authorities have complaints procedure to follow. They will explain how to use this. The complaints procedure might be appropriate if:
There are problems arranging an assessment.
There is an unreasonably long wait for an assessment.
The person is told that they are not eligible for care and support, and you or they feel that they are.
The required services are not provided, or are unsatisfactory.
Contact the local authority to find out what their complaints procedure is. If the local authority’s complaints procedure does not resolve the issue, you can take your complaint to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. It may be helpful to talk to a local advice agency first, for example Citizens Advice Cymru.
