Complaining about complaints: an exploration of family carers’ experiences of raising complaints with local authority adult social care departments in relation to adults with learning disabilities
Experiences of adult social care complaints processes for family carers of adults with learning disabilities and local authority (LA) staff
For family carer participants: Data will be generated through individual interviews in a three-step process: 1. Narrative interview: participants will share their experiences of raising complaints with minimal researcher direction. A broad opening question will be used to initiate the conversation and encourage participants to freely share their experiences. Follow-up questions, where necessary, will largely stem from what participants share, with a list of key areas of interest acting as a loose topic guide for the researcher. 2. Initial analysis: Interviews will be professionally transcribed and an initial analysis will be conducted. Key aspects of participants’ experiences will be mapped onto individual timelines and areas needing further clarification will be identified. 3. Follow-up interviews: Timelines will be shared with participants via email (or a hard copy via post if participants find this easier), and a follow-up interview will be arranged within 3 months of the initial interview to enable participants to review and amend their timelines and provide additional detail as needed. For local authority staff participants: Local authority staff will have the option to attend a one-off focus group or a 1:1 interview.
Family carers of adults with learning disabilities: 1. Currently be a carer of an adult with learning disabilities (age 18 years and over) or have cared for an adult with learning disabilities over the last 5 years 2. Be related to the person they care for 3. Have experience of making at least one complaint to their relative’s local authority adult social care department with the complaint relating to the care of their relative 4. The local authority they complained to is in England Local authority staff: To participate in this study, a person must: 1. Be currently employed by an English local authority and have experience of handling, managing or being involved in adult social care complaints, or 2. Have previously been employed by an English local authority (within the last 5 years) and have experience of handling, managing or being involved in adult social care complaints
Family carers of adults with learning disabilities (20 participants): People will be excluded from this study if: 1. The person they care for is not aged 18 or over 2. The person they care for does not have a learning disability 3. The local authority they complained to is not in England. Local authority staff (15 participants): People will be excluded from this study if: 1. They do not have experience of adult social care complaints 2. They are not employed, or recently employed (within the last 5 years) by a local authority 3. The local authority they work/ed for is not in England.