Complaints about Scottish care services rise 8% as care at home concerns jump

Complaints about care services in Scotland increased by 8% last year, with a sharp rise in concerns relating to care at home services, new figures from the Care Inspectorate have revealed.

The regulator received 5,721 complaints during 2025/26, 418 more than the previous year. Much of the increase was driven by complaints about standalone care at home support services, which rose by 28% year-on-year.

The figures form part of a new statistical bulletin examining complaints received and investigated between April 2019 and March 2026, with a particular focus on the most recent financial year.

Of the complaints received during 2025/26, 21% were revoked following assessment, including cases that fell outside the Care Inspectorate’s remit or where insufficient information was available. Where concerns related to issues such as adult or child protection, referrals could instead be made to organisations including local authorities or Police Scotland.

A total of 4,502 complaints were resolved through the regulator’s four resolution pathways. Almost half – 48% – were passed to the relevant inspector to inform future scrutiny activity, while 17% were resolved directly by the care service and 15% were referred back to providers for investigation through their own complaints procedures.

The remaining 20% were considered high risk and investigated by the Care Inspectorate. Of the complaints formally investigated during the year, 70% were upheld.

Care homes for older people continued to generate more complaints than any other service type. During 2025/26, 71% of care homes for older people received at least one complaint, while 25% had at least one complaint upheld.

Healthcare-related concerns remained among the most frequently upheld issues in older people’s care homes, including complaints involving medication, nutrition, hydration, tissue viability, continence care and inadequate care and treatment.

Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said the organisation’s focus was on resolving complaints quickly while using the intelligence gathered to improve care and inform future inspections.

She said investigations were intended not only to establish what had happened, but to secure improvements for both the person raising the complaint and others receiving care from the service.

Irvine added that working collaboratively with providers was a key part of the regulator’s approach, with complaint investigations expected to lead to “meaningful change and improvements” for people experiencing care.

The Care Inspectorate has encouraged anyone with concerns about a care service in Scotland to contact the regulator.

Source: Care Inspectorate

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