Introduction
The Provide Group is committed to learning about service areas where improvements can be made or where changes are required, and views the feedback from complaints as a key source of the information required to enable this process. The Provide Group believes in the fair and efficient management of complaints and openly invites these being raised by service users and stakeholder.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to set out the requirements to enable complaints about services delivered by the Provide Group to be managed in a timely and efficient manner, within the overarching principles of the Provide Group complaint management process.
Scope
The Provide Group delivers a broad range of health and social care services in the community.
This policy will apply to all Provide Group companies in applying the overarching principles of complaints management as set out within this policy.
The subsidiary companies delivering services under the umbrella of the Provide Group will ensure they have a robust Complaints Standard Operating Procedure (CSOP) and/or guidelines that outline local process aligned to these overarching principles.
In the event that a complaint is received that does not relate to a Provide Group service, every effort will be made to ensure that the complaint is forwarded to the correct organisation. The complainant will be informed of this and forwarding contact details provided.
This policy will be made available to staff, volunteers and contractors via the Organisations procedural document portal and the public via the public website – www.provide.org.uk.
Duties
Staff, contractors or volunteers engaged as part of a Provide Group company are expected to take any complaint raised seriously, act with compassion and ensure that any service user, relative or carer of a service user who makes a complaint is treated with respect and without bias.
Any member of staff, volunteer or contractor should attempt to resolve a verbal complaint at the point of contact if possible and be able to support the complainant to take the complaint to the relevant complaint management team within their service if the complaint cannot be easily resolved.
Monitoring and consultation
The Provide Group Quality and Safety Team are responsible for the monitoring of this policy ensuing that any review, revisions or amendments are ratified by the Provide Customer Engagement Group, and appropriate Committees for final ratification and dissemination to the services within the Provide Group companies.
Consideration should be made by the Customer Engagement Group around consultation with service users and/or regulatory bodies in the review of this policy to ensure it reflects feedback on complaints processes.
Complaint themes and trends and any areas for escalation will be via a quarterly report, to the Quality & Safety Provide Leadership Team (QPLT) meeting and will act as the assurance for the Quality and Safety Committee, this will also form part of the assurance for the Provide Board.
Managers of services within Provide Group companies should also include complaints data as part of the quality assurance reporting process to their specified Board, and these should be shared with the Provide Group Quality and Safety Committee for oversight.
Who can make a complaint
Anyone who has been affected or is likely to be affected by actions or decisions in relation to services delivered by the Provide Group can raise a complaint. A service user must give their consent for someone to act on their behalf.
A complaint may be made by a person acting on behalf of another person who has:
- Requested a representative to act on their behalf
- Delegated authority to do so, for example in the form of Power of Attorney
- Died
- Is a child
Is unable to make the complaint themselves because of: Physical incapacity or Lack of capacity within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
Safeguarding concerns
There may be circumstances in which information disclosed as part of the complaint may need to be shared in the best interest of the person, or the protection, safety or wellbeing of a child or adult at risk.
Safeguarding issues identified from a complaint must be reported and escalated by the member of staff or persons/team receiving the complaint following their local safeguarding processes. The relevant complaint management team within their service should also be made aware of the safeguarding issues to ensure guidance is adhered to and that appropriate actions and escalations occur.
How to make a complaint
The Provide Group is committed to ensuring easy access to information of how to raise a complaint. Compliments, Comments and Complaint leaflets will be made available at locations where Provide Group services are delivered. Provide CIC services can access the leaflet via the Provide website. Provide Group subsidiary companies will have local arrangements in place for access to their applicable leaflets and information on how to make a complaint.
The Compliments, Comments and Complaint leaflet will provide guidance of how to make a complaint, the process that will be undertaken, access to Advocacy services and how to contact the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (for health-related services) or Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (for social care services) should the complainant not be satisfied that we have acted reasonably in the management of said complaint.
On request, the leaflet can be provided in a number of languages, large print and Braille.
The services within the Provide Group can receive a complaint in the following ways:
- Verbally
- By telephone
- By letter
- By email
- Via Group Company Social Media
Complaint Management
The Provide Customer Service Team has overall responsibility for monitoring the complaint procedure. The process, however will be managed in accordance with the Complaint SOP/Guidance of the service/group company involved in the complaint (with reference to this policy’s overarching principles).
Any complaint received within the Provide Group must be acknowledged in line with the overarching principles of complaints management as set out within this policy. The details of the complaint should then be forwarded to the Provide Customer Service Team for logging onto the relevant module of the Datix system.
Any complaint received by the Provide Customer Service team, will be acknowledged, and consent obtained for information to be shared with the relevant complaint management team within the Provide Group.
The Provide Customer Service Team will monitor the progress of the management of the complaint and review the final response prior to it being sent.
Acknowledgement of Complaint~
- A complaint should be acknowledged within 3 working days with consent requested to share information relevant to the complaint process
- The acknowledgement should include information of how to access advocacy support and how the complaint may be taken forward to the Parliamentary Health Services Ombudsman/Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman should the complainant not be satisfied with our management of their complaint
- When consent to share has been confirmed the details of the complaint can be sent to the nominated person within the service involved in the complaint for the review of the episode of care to commence
On completion of the investigation, the complaint response:
- Will include an apology for the dissatisfaction felt about the service received
- Will include a clear statement of the issues, investigations, and the findings, giving clear evidence-based reasons for decisions as appropriate
- Be open, honest, and accountable. Where errors have occurred, these will be fully explained with a statement of what will be done to put these right and /or prevent repetition
- Will focus on fair and proportionate outcomes for the patient, including any remedial action or compensation
- Will be clear that the response is the final one, or, if relevant, that further action will be taken, or that reports are to follow
- Will offer the complainant the opportunity to meet with a member of the service to discuss the content of the response should the complainant wish to do so
- Will include a statement of the right to escalate the complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman/Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, together with the relevant contact information
- Will be sent to the Provide Customer Team for review before being sent
Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman/Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
There may be occasions when the complainant does not accept the findings of the complaint investigation and a complainant has the right to contact the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman or Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
On receipt of contact from the relevant Ombudsman, the service will advise the Provide Customer Service Team. This team will facilitate the collection of all information requested by the Ombudsman and ensure it is provided in a timely manner.
Recommendations further to Management of a complaint
Where a complainant becomes aggressive or, despite effective complaint handling, unreasonable in their promotion of the complaint, some or all of the following formal provisions will apply and will be communicated to the complainant by the complaint handler:
- The complaint will be managed by one named individual at senior level who will be the only contact for the complainant
- Contact will be limited to one method only (e.g. in writing)
- A time limit will be placed on each contact
- The number of contacts within a time period will be restricted
- A witness will be present for all contacts
- Repeated complaints about the same issue will be refused
- Correspondence regarding a closed matter will only be acknowledged and not responded to
- Behaviour standards will be set
- Irrelevant documentation will be returned
Advocacy Service
Organisations have a statutory duty to commission independent advocacy services to provide support in order for people to make a complaint about their care or treatment.
Advocacy services are independent of health and social care providers and help people, especially the vulnerable to understand their rights, express their views and wishes and ensure their voice is heard.
Information around local advocacy services should be provided upon acknowledgement of a complaint. Details of local advocacy services should be reflected within the Provide Group company local Complaint SOP/Guidelines.
Persistent and/or Vexatious Complaint
Where a complainant becomes aggressive or, despite effective complaint handling, unreasonable in their promotion of the complaint, some or all of the following formal provisions will apply and will be communicated to the complainant by the complaint handler:
- The complaint will be managed by one named individual at senior level who will be the only contact for the complainant
- Contact will be limited to one method only (e.g. in writing)
- A time limit will be placed on each contact
- The number of contacts within a time period will be restricted
- A witness will be present for all contacts
- Repeated complaints about the same issue will be refused
- Correspondence regarding a closed matter will only be acknowledged and not responded to
- Behaviour standards will be set
- Irrelevant documentation will be returned
Recommendations further to Management of a complaint
The Provide Customer Engagement Group will review managed complaints to ensure that processes in place are robust, actions have been identified, implemented and evaluated, and that learning has been shared appropriately.
The Provide Customer Service Team will work with Provide Group companies to ensure that overarching principles as outlined in the policy are adhered to and that the complainant receives a full and informed response.
An annual audit of Provide Group company complaint management will be undertaken to ensure that the overarching principles as set out in this policy have been applied.
Complaints about more than one provider
When an organisation receives a complaint, which contains issues about more than one provider or organisation a discussion with the complainant about who is best placed to co-ordinate the investigation and provide the response will take place. Where it is agreed that a Provide Group company will co-ordinate and respond on behalf of the providers/organisations, consent will be obtained to share the complaint as appropriate.
Where a Provide Group company is not the lead for the management of the complaint, it will fully co-operate with the organisation that has been identified as the lead and liaise with that organisation to ensure appropriate consent has been agreed and is in place.
Compliments
The Provide Group values the feedback it receives from its service users.
Compliments that come direct to the Provide Customer Service Team will be logged and then forwarded to the relevant service/group for dissemination to the team.
Compliment information forms part of the Customer Engagement Report that is noted at the Quality & Safety Committee meeting and used to inform the Provide Group companies of positive feedback about services, staff and care delivery. All Provide Group companies should have processes in place to collate and record compliments.