- Policy Statement
P&D Healthcare LTD, believes that an individual who wishes to make a complaint or register a concern should find it easy to do so. It is the organisations policy to welcome complaints and look upon them as an opportunity to gain experience, adapt, improve, and provide better services. P&D Healthcare LTD ensures that complaints are dealt with promptly and that all complaints or comments by customers, their relatives and carers are taken seriously.
- It is not P&D Healthcare’s policy to apportion blame, consider the possibility of negligence or to provide compensation.
- P&D Healthcare believes that complaints, if dealt with promptly, openly, and honestly, can be sorted at a local level between the complainant and the organisation. If this fails, due to either P&D Healthcare LTD or the complainant being dissatisfied with the result, the complainant may be referred to the Care Quality Commission or the local authority.
- P&D Healthcare LTD adheres fully to CQC’s Fundamental Standards.
- Aim of the Policy
It is the aim of P&D Healthcare LTD to ensure that its complaints procedure is properly and effectively implemented and that customers feel confident that their complaints and worries will be listened to and acted upon fairly and in a timely fashion.
- Goals
The goals of P&D Healthcare LTD are to ensure the following:
1. Customers, and any other individuals wishing to make a complaint are aware of how to do so.
2. A named person will be responsible for the administration of the procedure.
3. Every written complaint will be acknowledged within seven working days.
4. Investigations into written complaints will be held within twenty-eight days.
5. All complaints will be responded to in writing by P&D Healthcare LTD.
6. Complaints will be dealt with promptly, fairly, and sensitively with due regard to the upset and worry that they can cause to both staff and customers.
- The person with responsibility for following through complaints for P&D Healthcare LTD is the Registered Manager with the assistance of a director where necessary.
- P&D Healthcare LTD believes that, wherever possible, complaints are best dealt with on a local level between the complainant and the organisation.
- Verbal Complaints
1. All verbal complaints, no matter how seemingly unimportant, will be taken seriously.
2. Front-line care staff who receive a verbal complaint will seek to solve the problem immediately.
3. If staff cannot solve the problem immediately, they will offer to contact the Registered Manager.
4. All contact with the complainant must be polite, courteous, and sympathetic. There is nothing to be
gained by staff adopting a defensive or aggressive attitude.
5. At all times staff must remain calm and respectful.
6. Staff must not accept blame, make excuses, or blame other staff.
7. If the complaint is being made on behalf of a customer by an advocate, it must first be verified that the person has permission to speak for the customer, especially if confidential information is involved. It is extremely easy to assume that the advocate has the right or power to act for the customer when they may not. If in doubt, it is to be assumed that the customer’s explicit permission is needed prior to discussing the complaint with the advocate.
8. After discussion, P&D Healthcare LTD’s Registered Manager or the member of staff dealing with the complaint may be able to suggest a course of action to resolve the complaint. If this course of action is acceptable, the member of staff will clarify the agreement with the complainant and agree a way in which the results of the complaint will be communicated to the complainant (i.e., by a meeting or a letter).
9. If the suggested plan of action is not acceptable to the complainant, the member of staff or P&D Healthcare LTD’s Registered Manager will ask the complainant to put their complaint in writing and provide them with a copy of the organisation’s complaints procedure.
10. In all cases, details of the complaints are held on file.
- Written Complaints
- Preliminary Steps
1. Should a complaint be received in writing, it is to be given to the Registered Manager, who will make a record in a designated complaints folder. It will be acknowledged in writing for immediate investigation.
2. If necessary, further details will be obtained from the complainant. If the complaint is not made by the customer but on the customer’s behalf, then the consent of the customer, preferably in writing, must be obtained.
3. A copy of P&D Healthcare LTD’s complaints policy will be supplied.
4. If the complaint raises potentially serious matters, advice will by sought from P&D Healthcare LTD’s legal advisor. If legal action is taken at this stage, any investigation by the organisation under the complaint’s procedure will cease immediately.
5. Complainants will be advised of their right to contact the Care Quality Commission.
- Investigation of the Complaint
1. Immediately on receipt of the complaint, P&D Healthcare LTD will launch an investigation and within twenty-eight days the organisation will be able to provide a full explanation to the complainant, either in writing or by arranging a meeting with the individuals concerned.
2. If the issues are too complex to complete the investigation within twenty-eight days, the complainant will be informed of any delays.
- Meeting
1. If a meeting is arranged, the complainant will be advised that they may if they wish, be supported by a friend, relative or representative, such as an advocate.
2. At the meeting, a detailed explanation of the results of the investigation will be given and an apology if deemed appropriate (apologising for what happened need not be an admission of liability).
3. Such meetings give P&D Healthcare LTD the opportunity to show the complainant that the matter has been taken seriously and has been thoroughly investigated.
- Follow up Action
1. After the meeting, or if the complainant does not want a meeting, a written account of the investigation will be sent to the complainant.
2. The outcomes of the investigation and the meeting will be recorded in the complaints folder and any shortcomings found in P&D Healthcare LTD’s procedures will be identified and acted upon.
3. Any incidents of complaints are brought to the attention of the board of directors at their quarterly meetings by the Management Team.
