Complaints Procedure

1. Introduction

At Chiltern Healthcare we always aim to provide a high standard of care in all our services.

Our clients’ and families’ views are important to us and help to ensure our services are consistently meeting everyone’s needs. If you are unhappy with any of our services, it is important that you let us know.

If a complaint alerts us to possible abuse or neglect, we will tell the Local Authority’s Adult Safeguarding Team. The Safeguarding Team will decide how to investigate and monitor outcomes.

2. Making a Suggestion

Often people feel more comfortable suggesting improvements than complaining formally. Suggestions can be made by anyone receiving services, or their friends/family. To make a suggestion you can:

• Speak to your carers, their deputy or our Manager at the office.

• Utilise available comments or suggestion boxes if you would rather make your suggestion that way

• If the suggestion is something that Chiltern Healthcare as a company needs to consider you can send it to:

Registered Manager

Chiltern Healthcare

Suite 3a & 3b,

Douglas House,

Fenny Stratford,

Bletchley,

Milton Keynes,

MK1 1BA

Buckinghamshire.

Or email admin@chiltern-health.co.uk

3. Making a Complaint

We aim to handle complaints quickly, effectively and in a fair and honest way. We take all complaints seriously and use valuable information from investigating to help us improve the service we provide. We treat all complaints in confidence.

Chiltern Healthcare assures our clients and their families that it will not withdraw or reduce services because someone makes a complaint in good faith. Everyone is treated fairly and with respect.

4. Who Can Complain

Anyone affected by the way Chiltern Healthcare provides services can make a complaint.

A representative can make a complaint for the affected person if they:

• Have died

• Cannot make a complaint themselves, or

• Have given consent for the representative to act on their behalf

If you are not happy about making a complaint yourself and you do not know someone who can talk or write to us on your behalf, we will be happy to find someone from an independent organisation to act as an advocate for you.

5. How You Can Make a Complaint

You can complain:

• In person

• By telephone 01908 373888, email admin@chiltern-health.co.uk or letter to our office address

• Through a member of our staff

• Through an advocate or representative

Where someone complains verbally we will make a written record and provide a copy of it within 3 working days

• By letter

• By email

6. Anonymous Complaints

We deal with anonymous complaints under the same procedure. However, it should be noted, if you provide contact details, we can update you on the outcome of our investigation.

7. Responsibility

The Registered Manager has overall responsibility for dealing with all complaints made about our service. We will provide as far as is reasonably practical:

• Any help you need to understand the complaints procedure

• Advice on where you may get that help

• Information about making a complaint in a way you can understand.

8. How We Handle Complaints

The Registered Manager or Chiltern Healthcare may ask one of the management team to investigate the complaint. That person will have enough seniority and experience to deal with the issues raised.

We will formally acknowledge a complaint within 3 working days and give you the name and contact details of the person investigating it.

We will keep you informed about the progress of the investigation. We aim to have all complaints completed within 28 working days unless we agree a different time scale with you.

When we have finished investigating, we will arrange to meet with you to discuss the outcome, and write to you with:

• Details of the findings

• Any action we have taken

• Our proposals to resolve your complaint

9. Time Limits

You should complain as soon as you can after the date on which the event occurred or came to your notice. If you complain more than twelve months later, we may not be able to investigate properly. However, we will consider whether you had a good reason for not making the complaint sooner and whether, despite the delay, it is still possible to investigate the complaint effectively and fairly.

10. Further Steps

1. At any stage during the process, if you are not happy with the way the service is dealing with your complaint you can contact the Registered Manager directly by phone, email or letter.

You can also contact your Local Authority Complaints Team to complain at:

Local Authority Complaints Team

2. Once we have dealt with your complaint, if you are not happy with the outcome you can refer your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and ask for it to be reviewed. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman provides a free independent service.

You can contact them at:

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman PO Box 4771

Coventry CV4 0EH

Tel: 0300 061 0614

Email: advice@lgo.org.uk

Website: https://www.lgo.org.uk/

Complaint form: https://www.lgo.org.uk/complaint-form

NB: The Ombudsman will not normally investigate a complaint until the provider has had an opportunity to respond and resolve matters.

3. Chiltern Healthcare services are registered with and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC cannot get involved in individual complaints about providers but is happy to receive information about services at any time.

You can contact the CQC at:

Care Quality Commission

National Correspondence Citygate

Gallowgate

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE1 4PA

Tel: 03000 616161

Fax: 03000 616171

Website: www.cqc.org.uk

*We can provide this policy in other languages or in other formats on request