Adult social care appeals procedure

What happens when you appeal a decision made by adult social care.

Appealing a decision

You can appeal a decision by:

• contacting the worker who made, or informed you of, the decision we made.
• emailing AdultCareAppeals@lewisham.gov.uk
• calling 020 8314 6131 (if you leave a message we will get back to you)
• writing to FREEPOST, Adult social care complaints, Lewisham Council, Town Hall, Catford SE6 4RU.

Who can appeal a decision?

Anyone who is affected by the adult social care decision can appeal against it.

If you prefer, you can ask someone to appeal the decision on your behalf. This could be a relative, friend, carer, doctor or someone independent who can speak for you.

What sort of decisions can be appealed?

Any decision that has been made by adult social care can be appealed. Examples include:

• eligibility under the Care Act (2014), including the intensity or type of support offered under the Care Act

• adaptations (including Major Adaptations / Disabled Facilities Grants) provided under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and / or Equipment provision provided under the Care Act 2014.

• mental capacity and best interest decisions made under the Mental Capacity Act (2005)

Are there decisions that cannot be appealed?

• decisions that have been made, and communicated to you, more than six weeks ago, cannot be appealed
• repeat appeals about the same decision  

• Neither can we consider an appeal for a decision we have not made. As we work closely with other parts of the Local Authority and external agencies, it may appear that we have made a decision when the decision has not been made by us. In these instances, we will advise you of where to address your concerns. Examples include:
  • housing eligibility
  • financial assessments / debt waivers / charging appeals
  • deferred payments
  • appeals under the Mental Health Act (1983): These decisions have their own process and would be made by colleagues in South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLAM)
  • human rights assessments related to those with No Recourse To Public Funds. (NRTPF): These decisions are made by the NRTPF team, though if there is an appeal regarding Care Act eligibility then Adult Social Care and the NRTPF team will work together to provide a single response

How we deal with your appeal

The appeals procedure

• we will tell you within three working days that we have received your appeal. If you have given us your telephone number, we will call you to discuss how you would like us to proceed
• the member of staff who worked with you previously, and their manager, will arrange for an internal independent panel to review the decision made
• at least 10 days before this panel meet, the worker will contact you to ensure that all of the relevant information, you would like the panel to consider, is available
• you can provide this information in writing, in person directly to the panel or to the panel via telephone / video link or some other medium
• someone else can accompany you if you would like to present this information in person, or they can present on your behalf
• we will give you a detailed answer in writing that explains how we looked into your appeal, what we found out and what we think should happen next