Complaints policy

CQC Key questions

SAFE:

  • Learning culture: Encourage openness and collaboration, fostering continuous improvement in response to safety concerns.
  • Safe systems, pathways, and transitions: Implement procedures to ensure safe transitions and minimise risks during care journeys.
  • Safeguarding: Integrate safeguarding measures into all aspects of service delivery to protect individuals from harm.
  • Involving people to manage risks: Actively involve individuals in managing risks, balancing safety with personal choices.
  • Safe environments: Maintain safe environments conducive to the well-being of staff and service users.
  • Safe and effective staffing: Ensure adequate staffing levels and competency to deliver safe care.
  • Infection prevention and control: Implement stringent infection control measures to prevent spread.
  • Medicines optimisation: Establish robust medication management systems for safe administration.

EFFECTIVE:

  • Assessing needs: Conduct thorough assessments to tailor care to individual needs.
  • Delivering evidence-based care and treatment: Provide care reflecting evidence-based practices and tailored to individual characteristics.
  • How staff, teams, and services work together: Promote collaboration among staff and teams to optimise care delivery.
  • Supporting people to live healthier lives: Offer support and resources to promote health and well-being.
  • Monitoring and improving outcomes: Continuously monitor outcomes and strive for improvement based on feedback.
  • Consent to care and treatment: Ensure individuals provide informed consent for care and treatment.

CARING:

  • Kindness, compassion, and dignity: Treat individuals with kindness, empathy, and respect for their dignity.
  • Treating people as individuals: Recognise and respect individual preferences and characteristics.
  • Independence, choice, and control: Support individuals’ autonomy and choices to live independently.
  • Responding to people’s immediate needs: Address individuals’ needs promptly and effectively.
  • Workforce wellbeing and enablement: Support staff well-being to enhance their capacity to provide compassionate care.

RESPONSIVE:

  • Person-centred care: Place individuals and communities at the center of care planning and delivery.
  • Care provision, integration, and continuity: Ensure accessible and integrated care services that meet diverse needs.
  • Providing information: Offer accessible information, advice, and advocacy to support informed decision-making.
  • Listening to and involving people: Actively involve individuals and stakeholders in care planning and improvement.
  • Equity in access and experiences: Ensure equitable access to care and strive for equitable experiences and outcomes.
  • Planning for the future: Anticipate and plan for future needs and changes in care delivery.

WELL-LED:

  • Shared direction and culture: Foster a culture of continuous learning, improvement, and inclusivity.
  • Capable, compassionate, and inclusive leaders: Develop leaders who support staff and promote a positive culture.
  • Freedom to speak up: Encourage open communication and feedback to address concerns and promote improvement.
  • Workforce equality, diversity, and inclusion: Promote equality, diversity, and inclusion within the workforce.
  • Governance, management, and sustainability: Establish effective governance and management systems to improve care outcomes.
  • Partnerships and communities: Collaborate with partners and engage with communities to deliver integrated and person-centred care.
  • Learning, improvement, and innovation: Embrace innovation and continuous improvement to enhance care delivery.
  • Environmental sustainability: Promote environmental sustainability practices to ensure sustainable development.

1. POLICY STATEMENT
1.1. We will ensure that all our clients are aware of this policy and they or their representative understand how to make a complaint.
1.2. It is our policy that all comments, suggestions, and complaints are dealt with quickly and effectively. All complaints are treated sensitively, considering the individual circumstances.
1.3. We shall make every effort to provide the best possible service. However, there may be occasions when people are not happy with the service, and therefore we recognise the right of all Clients, relatives, representatives to inform us of any problems or complaints (however small) which will be listened to and acted upon.
1.4. We will ensure that Clients or those acting on their behalf who make a complaint are treated in a manner that respects their human rights and diversity in a fair and equal manner. The client will be supported to make a complaint using their preferred communication method.
1.5. Where Clients lack confidence or capacity to make a complaint, they are supported by temporary workers in a sensitive manner to follow the complaints procedure. Complaints from people acting on the Clients behalf will be treated with the same respect as if they had come from the Client.
1.6. We will make every effort to resolve complaints to the complainant’s satisfaction unless the complaint cannot be upheld or is outside our remit or our responsibility.
1.7. We are always looking to improve our services and promote a no-blame culture. All comments, suggestions, or complaints regardless of how small they may appear will be treated seriously and used to improve the service offered.

2. HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ACT 2008 (REGULATED ACTIVITIES) REGULATIONS 2014: REGULATION 16
2.1. Our general policy is based on the requirements of Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Regulation 16
2.2. The intention of this regulation is to make sure that people can make a complaint about their care and treatment.
2.3. To meet this regulation, Profound care services limited will have an effective and accessible system for identifying, receiving, handling, and responding to complaints from people using the service, people acting on their behalf, or other stakeholders.
2.4. All complaints will be investigated thoroughly, and any necessary action taken where failures have been identified.
2.5. When requested to do so, Profound care services limited will provide CQC with a summary of complaints, responses, and other related correspondence or information.
2.6. Any complaint received will be investigated, and necessary and proportionate action must be taken in response to any failure identified by the complaint or investigation.
2.7. The registered person must establish and effectively operate an accessible system for identifying, receiving, recording, handling, and responding to complaints by service users and other persons in relation to the carrying on of the regulated activity.
2.8. We will provide to the Commission, when requested to do so and by no later than 28 days beginning on the day after receipt of the request, a summary of

a) Complaints made under such complaints system,
b) Responses made by the registered person to such complaints and any further correspondence with the complainants in relation to such complaints, and
c) Any other relevant information in relation to such complaints as the Commission may request.

3. PRINCIPLES AND GOALS
3.1. We are committed to the six principals of good practice in the management of complaints, and these are a) Getting it right.

a) Being customer-focused
b) Being open and accountable
c) Acting fairly and proportionately
d) Putting things right
e) Seeking continuous improvement.

3.2. The goals of our complaint’s procedure are to:

a) Take a flexible approach towards handling individual complaints which focus on the needs and wishes of the people involved.
b) Keep the procedure simple so that it is much easier for people to share experiences and for service to respond.

4. COMPLEMENTING OUR SERVICE
4.1. Compliments are valuable, welcome, and important and when they are received, either verbally or in writing, they will be recorded.
4.2. Compliments enable Profound care services limited to

a) Understand that our service is being provided to the carers’ satisfaction.
b) Provide positive feedback to our temporary workers.
c) Influence our agency and service development.
d) Inform our quality assurance programme.

5. COMPLAINING ABOUT OUR SERVICE
5.1. Profound care services limited recognises that there will be times when our temporary workers and the management make mistakes or get things wrong.
5.2. To learn from such mistakes, we need to know about them and encourage people to comment or complain. Such comments or complaints will always be taken seriously, recorded, and responded to.

6. PROCEDURE FOR RESOLVING COMPLAINTS

Who Can Use This Procedure?
6.1. This procedure is for anyone who meets Profound care services limited management and temporary workers.
6.2. By anyone we mean clients – carers, practitioners, people with care needs, other voluntary groups, statutory agencies, and any other member of the public.
6.3. You may have the assistance of a friend or someone else to help you with any or all the stages of this complaint’s procedure.
6.4. If you wish to follow this procedure and complain about an aspect of our service, this will NOT affect any services you receive, or wish to receive, from Profound care services limited.

7. THE PROCEDURE
7.1. We hope that most of complaints can be resolved informally by speaking directly to the person or persons involved.
7.2. This can be done either by telephone or in a face-to-face meeting. All complaints will be recorded at this stage on our feedback form.
7.3. If the complaint is resolved at this stage, you will receive a letter outlining the issue and the decisions reached and agreed. If, however, informal resolution is not possible the complaint can be escalated.

8. MAKING A COMPLAINT

Raising informal concerns
8.1. We recognise that many concerns will be raised informally and dealt with quickly. Our aims are to:

a) Resolve informal concerns quickly.
b) Keep matters low-key.
c) Enable mediation between the complainant and the individual to whom the complaint has been referred.

8.2. An informal approach is appropriate when it can be achieved. But if concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved informally, then the formal complaints procedure should be followed. Informal concerns can be expressed to Profound care services limited in many ways. They can be raised as:

a) Questions
b) Suggestions
c) Feedback requests for information or,
d) Comments and complaints.

8.3. Profound care services limited encourages clients, their relatives, and carers to bring their concerns openly to us.

a) In person, on the phone,
b) Email or in writing.

9. UPON RECEIPT OF A COMPLAIN
8.4. Profound care services limited ensures that all complaints are formally acknowledged within 5 working days. All efforts will be made to resolve the complaint within 15 working
days. It is preferable that the details of complaints should be received in writing. However, in the situation of receiving a verbal complaint, we will ensure that this is recorded and acknowledged.
8.5. Profound care services limited will offer complainants assistance in formulating and documenting their complaint in these circumstances.
8.6. In the event of the complaint being against a temporary worker, Profound care services limited we ensure that staff member is fully informed of the complaint and is entitled to receive a copy of the complaint.
8.7. Staff member will be invited to respond to the complaint and state their version of events.
8.8. This must be completed and submitted in writing within 7 days of the complaint being logged with Profound care services limited. This Statement of Events may be shared with the complainant.
8.9. When we receive a complaint or are notified of any other matter, which might call into question the conduct of a temporary worker, we have a duty to investigate and take
such other action as we may consider necessary until we have sufficient information to resolve the issue to our satisfaction.
8.10. Where necessary, Profound care services limited will immediately exclude staff member from its register while an investigation is in progress.
8.11. Profound care services limited will keep complainants informed of the complaint’s progression and any delays in the process, giving reasons and an anticipated response time.
8.12. During the dealing of a complaint, Profound care services limited will ensure that the level and quality of the service provided to the client continues and there is no adverse effect on the service provided.
8.13. It is the responsibility of Profound care services limited to refer temporary workers to their regulatory authority where there are concerns about their fitness to practice, in the event of malpractice or concerns about their health.
8.14. Where there is evidence of malpractice or the complaint is an event that requires notification, Profound care services limited will immediately notify the relevant regulatory authority, The Police, Protection of Vulnerable Adults or Children and where applicable alert staff members professional body as appropriate

9. BELOW ARE THE CONTACT DETAILS TO REPORT A COMPLAINT.
Our Complaints address is:
CQC National Customer Service’s address is:
City gate Gallowgate Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 4PA
Telephone: 0300 061 6161

10. MENTAL CAPACITY
10.1. Family members or Representatives of Clients who suffer from mental incapacity who are not satisfied with the outcome of their complaint may at any stage contact the Local Authority Social Care Service or the Care Quality Commission at the above addresses.

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