Complaints Procedure
Sometimes complaints are best dealt with as “suggestions”. The Agency welcomes suggestions on any matter connected with your care;
Talk to a trusted carer or friend if you are not sure whether your complaint is valid, or realistic;
All complaints will be taken seriously, will be fully investigated, handled quickly, sympathetically and confidentially, and, where necessary, improvements made and appropriate reparation offered.
You may talk to any employee of the Agency about your complaint and the employee will:
Attempt to deal with the matter there and then*
Prepare a written record of the complaint , and
Submit a record of the complaint to the Agency Manager
* If the employee cannot deal with the matter there and then, then he/she will tell you, and the matter will be referred to the Agency Manager. You will then receive a written acknowledgement of your complaint within three days. The Manager will check with you (if it is not obvious from the report) to see if your complaint has been dealt with. If it has, then that will be the end of the matter. If not, then the Manager will deal with your complaint as if it were a written complaint..
Written complaints
You can make a written complaint if you wish, and this should be addressed to the Agency Manager;
If your complaint is about the Agency Manager, then it should be addressed to (Provide name of more senior individual in the Agency hierarchy who is delegated the responsibility for handling such complaints).
This is how we will deal with your complaint:
All complaints will be recorded in a register maintained for this purpose;
All complaints will be acknowledged within 3 working days of receipt;
All complaints will be investigated, and a written response given within 10 working days. The written response will address the issues raised in the complaint, and, if possible, will propose a resolution;
All records relating to the complaint, including copies of all correspondence etc will be filed in the complaints file maintained by the Agency Manager;
No person who is the subject of a formal complaint may take any responsibility for consideration of a response to that complaint;
No person will suffer any form of harassment or reprisal for making a complaint.
When you have received a response to your complaint, if you are still not happy then you may write to (provide name of more senior individual in the Agency hierarchy who is delegated the responsibility for handling such complaints).
It is hoped that following further review and response, that you will be satisfied with the way the matter has been handled, and the response which has been given. Therefore the matter comes to a close.
However if you remain dissatisfied then you may write to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
In addition, if you are unsatisfied at any stage, then you may take your complaint further. In addition to the senior responsible Manager above and CQC, you may contact:
General Social Care Council;
Any third-party purchaser involved (local authority, PCT etc);
Relevant membership organisations to which the Agency belongs (UKHCA etc).
Advocacy Service
If you feel that you would like to have someone help you with your complaint, then please see the Agency Manager who will help you find an independent person to assist you.
Records
Complaints/Compliments, including details of any investigation/action taken will be recorded on the relevant employee’s personnel file and the personal file of the Client.