Complaints and Compliments Policy

To meet the legal requirements of the regulatory activities that My Care at Home is registered to provide:

• Compensations Act 2006
• The Care Act 2014
• The Health & Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
• Human Rights Act 1998
• The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009
• Mental Capacity Act 2005
• Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice 
• Data Protection Act 2018
• General Data Protection Act 2018

2. Scope

The following people may be affected by this policy:

• All staff
• Clients
• Family
• Advocates
• Representatives
• Commissioners
• External health professionals
• Local Authority
• NHS

3. Objectives

1. To improve the quality of the client’s experience
2. To ensure that all complaints and suggestions are promptly addressed, resolved and shared within the agreed timescales to ensure that lessons are learned and that the learning improves service quality and delivery

4. Policy

4.1 Complaints

My Care at Home understands complaints to be an expression of dissatisfaction requiring a response, communicated verbally, electronically, or in writing.  Complaints may be made by any clients, family or advocate acting on their behalf, with their consent or in their best interests

My Care at Home takes complaints seriously.  We will aim to put things right that have gone wrong and learn lessons to avoid the problem happening again (see appendix 1). This policy sets out the framework for how my Care at Home will achieve this.  

My Care at Home will comply with legislation, national guidelines, regulation and best practice when managing complaints and suggestions.  A systematic approach will be taken with all aspects of complaints and suggestions.

Complaints or concerns by staff will be addressed via the grievance process if the complaint or concern relates to them individually or the Whistleblowing procedure where a protected disclosure is made.

My Care at Home understands our statutory obligations in respect of the Duty of Candour and will ensure we follow the agreed policy and procedure

4.2 My Care at Home will ensure that the complaints and compliments process at My Care at Home is fair and transparent and does not discriminate directly or indirectly because of the following:

• Age
• Being or becoming a transsexual/transgender person
• Being married or in a civil partnership
• Being pregnant or on maternity leave
• Disability
• Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
• Religion, belief or lack of religion / belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

The complainant will feel free to complain without fear of reprisals and will feel treated with courtesy, respect and compassion.  My Care at Home will ensure that the process of how to make a complaint and the feedback is provided in a way that meets the Accessible Information Standard, and is in a format that the client can understand.

4.3  My Care at Home will seek out opportunities to obtain feedback from clients or their representatives.  My Care at Home will act with sensitivity, integrity and professionalism by treating individuals who do complain or raise a suggestion with compassion, courtesy and respect.  The service will protect the client’s right to confidentiality.  My Care at Home will ensure that alternative methods of communication are available so that the complaints and suggestions procedures are accessible for clients who experience difficulties with communication or whose first language is not English.

Staff will undertake training on how to manage complaints in line with their role and responsibilities.

4.4  My Care at Home understands that it can be difficult to separate a complaint from a concern and therefore My Care at Home will follow this process when any dissatisfaction arises with the service (see appendix 2)

4.5  A full record will be held of all complaints/concerns received regardless of the level of seriousness and means of communication.  This approach allows an open and transparent culture around raising concerns in the earliest stage to allow resolution.  A record of the complaint will also be held in the client’s care file and reported in line with contractual and regulatory requirements.

4.6  Safeguarding Concerns

Where a complaint or concern is raised that relates to a client being harmed or likely to be harmed, My Care at Home will follow its Safeguarding Policy & Procedures in addition to the complaints procedures, seeking advice from the Safeguarding Adults team and escalating concerns in line with procedure.  My care at Home will also notify CQC in line with our statutory duty.

4.7  Roles and Responsibilities

It is acknowledged that all staff working within My Care at Home may be presented with an individual wishing to raise a concern or complaint at any time, therefore staff need to be able to manage this in a sensitive, structured and timely manner.  In order to do this stall will:

• Be trained on induction and as a routine measure to ensure knowledge is embedded and refreshed around the complaints procedure
• Have access to the complaints procedure
• Be provided with the opportunity to reflect and learn from complaints as a means of developing and driving quality care
• Appreciate that any feedback from clients or their representatives that is of concern needs immediate resolution, where possible, to their satisfaction.  Care Plans will be updated to reflect the planned changes to care and the Registered Manager informed of the feedback.  Failing to do this may result in a complaint
• Be clearly advised that on presentation of a complaint, swift escalation to management is necessary and purposefully withholding or concealing of concerns expressed by clients or their representatives may lead to disciplinary action

My Care at Home Management Team

• Is responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy, regulations, improvement planning and having arrangements in place to provide relevant reports and information regarding complaints
• Is the main point of contact for the receipt, investigation and management of complaints within My Care at Home.  However, this may be delegated to a senior member of staff within My Care at Home who holds the experience, knowledge and competence to investigate and manage complaints
• My Care at Home will ensure the procedure for raising a complaint is accessible and displayed prominently in My Care at Home, on the website of My Care at Home, and within the client information and guides.  Alternative languages and formats will be available on request.

4.8 Compliments and Suggestions

My Care at Home welcomes compliments and suggestions and recognises their importance in celebrating and recognising the success of our service and opportunities for improvement.  We will engage with a wide range of stakeholders in addition to clients to support service development and improvement.  We will share feedback with our staff.

4.9  One Complaint, One Response

My Care at Home will follow the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman best practice and where clients are receiving services for more than one organisation we will ensure they can make a complaint to anyone and be provided with a single response following a joint investigation.

5. Procedure

5.1 Raising Complaints

A complaint can be received by My Care at Home either verbally or in writing and can be made by:

• Clients
• Someone acting on behalf of a client and with their written consent e.g. an advocate, relative, Member of Parliament
• Someone acting on behalf of a client who is unable to represent his or her own interests, providing this does not conflict with the client’s right to confidentiality or a previously expressed wish of the client

My Care at Home will ensure that clients are given information on how to make a complaint and the process once and complaint has been made, including and agreed timescales. This will be detailed within the client handbook. 

5.2  Time Limits for Submitting a Complaint

Complaints should be submitted within 3 months of the incident or concern arising.  The time limit, however, can and should be waived if:

• It is still practical and possible to investigate the complaint (the records still exist and the individuals concerned are still available to be questioned, etc)
• The complainant can demonstrate reasonable cause for delay in making the complaint.

It is at the discretion of the manager of the service if the time limit can be set aside.

5.3  Complaints Procedure

Step 1

When a complaint is raised to staff, staff will make an effort to resolve it immediately to the satisfaction of the complainant. 

Step 2

Staff will apologise for the fact that there was a need to complain in the first instance and explain the complaints process as described in the procedure steps.

Step 3

Staff will report the complaint to the most senior member of staff on duty and the complaint will be logged. The form in appendix 2 will be completed.

Step 4

Formal acknowledgement of all complaints received (either verbal or written) will be sent within 2 working days to the complainant.  This could be via letter or email.  My Care at Home will have an on-call system in place to manage out-of-hours and weekend complaints received.

The acknowledgement will include:

• An invitation to meet and discuss the complaint
• Who will be investigating the complaint
• How the investigation will be handled – the response should state what the investigation will be focussed on
• A time limit for the investigation to be concluded.  This should be 28 days; however, some cases may take longer and the complainant will be made aware of this
• The complaints procedure and contact details of the bodies that can be accessed in the event of dissatisfaction with the outcome of the investigation

Step 5

Following a full investigation, a response letter will be sent and this will include the following:

• A summary of the issue from the complainant’s point of view
• Details of the evidence and sources consulted in order to investigate the issue fully and fairly
• A presentation of the findings for each issue clearly and concisely described
• A conclusion, stating clearly whether the issue is “upheld”, “partially upheld” or “not upheld”; unless it is ineligible, in which case the reason for this will be given e.g. out of time or out of jurisdiction
• An explanation of the outcome and whether any remedial action or learning points arise from the investigation of that issue
• An apology where the issue is upheld and shortcomings or failings have been found
• The complainant’s rights if not satisfied with the outcome to refer to The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
• A signature from the responsible individual or sent by email in their name

Step 6

The complaint will be closed once confirmation has been received that there is satisfaction with the outcome.  In the event of dissatisfaction, My Care at Home will support the complainant to access further support (refer to section 5.6)

5.4  The Complaints Log

A record will be held of all complaints raised and will contain the following information:

• Each complaint received
• Subject matter and outcome
• Details of any reason for delay where investigations took longer than the agreed response period
• The date the report of outcome was sent to the complainant
• Where complaints relate to a client, a copy of the complaint will be held in their care records so that the client can reflect on the recommendations.
• Where complaints are raised by telephone, the log will include the date and time of the call and this will be followed up with written confirmation of the areas discussed.
• Where a complaint indicates the potential abuse of clients, safeguarding policies will be followed as per local authority expectation and necessary notifications made to the regulatory body.  Where care is commissioned by another company their reporting procedure for notifying them of complaints will be followed.
• Where complaints are to be shared as part of learning, the complaint will be anonymised so there is no identifiable client information.
• 5.5  Investigations
  All investigations will be managed by using the following approach:
• Investigating the fact
• Assessing evidence
• Review of records
• Interviewing those involved
• Where necessary, advice and support will be sourced via senior managers within the organisation.  The complaint must be investigated by a member of staff with the knowledge, experience, and seniority to undertake the investigation robustly.
• Confidentiality of information will be considered at all times and staff will adhere to the confidentiality policy and relevant codes of practice.  If an investigation of a complaint results in disciplinary action of staff within My Care at Home, the complaint will continue to its conclusion.  The complainant will be informed that the investigation has led to disciplinary process, but the details of the outcome or ongoing investigation will remain confidential.
• 5.6  Unresolved Complaints
  There are many bodies who can support or who need to be informed of unresolved complaints:
• Care Quality Commission
• Individuals can escalate their complaint to the Care Quality Commission via
• Website www.cqc.org.uk
• Email enquiries@cqc.org.uk
• Address Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA
Tel:  03000 616161
Fax:  03000 616171

• The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (for those clients that are funded by local authority-funded social services care or self-funded)

Individuals have the right to raise their complaint to the local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.  This is a free service and individuals can contact their Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman via:

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

Individuals must be advised that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint until the provider has had the opportunity to respond and resolve the matter in the first instance.

• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (For clients that are NHS funded)

Individuals have the right to raise a concern about a service that is NHS funded.  This is a free service and individuals can contact via:

• Telephone:  0345 015 4033
• Email:  phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
• Website:  www.ombudsman.org.uk
• Address

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

My Care at Home can also signpost individuals to Healthwatch and the local independent complaints advocacy services (ICAS)

• Clinical Commissioning Groups

Individuals can make a complaint about a health service they are receiving or have received and can discuss this with the commissioner of the service.

• Local Authority Complaints Teams

Individuals have the right to raise concerns and complaints about adult social care regardless of whether or not they pay for their own care of if the Council funds it.  Individuals can make a complaint about organisations who provide services on the Council’s behalf. 

• Professional Bodies

If a complaint involves a serious misconduct of a healthcare professional, their relevant professional body can be informed and this is determined on an individual case basis in discussion with the Registered Manager.

For any external bodies managing complaints My Care at Home will work with the external body providing information as requested within any agreed timescales expected.

5.7  Compliments

Receiving compliments is an opportunity to celebrate and recognise success.  My Care at Home will ensure that:

• All compliments are shared with staff and displayed on the WOW board to highlight good practice
• Compliments are anonymised or permission sought before displaying
• Numbers of compliments received are logged as part of a quality assurance programme
• Verbal positive feedback from clients and relatives is also deemed as compliments and will be recorded and shared with colleagues
• Compliments form a core agenda item at staff, client and relative meetings / in newsletters

5.8  Suggestions

Suggestions can be made verbally or in writing and generally are in response to seeking a means of changing practice for the better.

• Suggestion are not complaints, but in some circumstances, if they are not considered or actioned they could lead to a complaint
• When suggestions are raised in meetings or as part of a conversation, these will be documented and then outcomes of such suggestion recorded to show consideration
• Staff will be encouraged to share their suggestions or suggestions received by relatives and clients to the Registered Manager
• My Care at Home will consider implementing a suggestions system to encourage comments from clients, staff and visitors
• 5.9  Audit and Evaluation
• My Care at Home will monitor and review all information received about the service as a means of continuously reviewing performance, quality and safety.
• My Care at Home will also:
• Share themes and trends with care staff working for My Care at Home
• Ensure that staff are trained to deal with complaints and understand the procedure for managing complaints
• 5.10  Anonymous Complaints
•  Anonymous complaints will be investigated in the same way as named complaints.  They will be logged and any corrective action necessary will be taken and also logged.
• 5.11  One Complaint. One Response
• Where more than one organisation is involved in the client’s care they, or their representative, will be able to complain to any of them and My Care at Home will contact the other organisations, carry out a joint investigation and provide a single joint response.  Clients must not have to contact each organisation separately.  If someone complains and My Care at Home is not responsible for the care or service complained about, rather than turning them away, My Care at Home will share the concerns with the correct organisation(s).  You will need to individual’s permission to do this.  If the person prefers that their complaint is not shared with the other organisation(s), My Care at Home will signpost them to the right organisation instead and provide the person with their contact details.  My Care at Home will follow LGO guidance for managing this.
• 5.12  All efforts will be made to resolve all complaints within My Care at Home.  If a client does not wish to raise a complaint directly to management within My Care at Home, in the first instance, staff will try and sensitively establish their reasons why and aim to resolve and address any concerns that present.
• Decisions to raise complaints outside of My Care at Home will be fully respected and the client will be supported to raise their complaint to the commissioner of the service or to seek the support of an independent advocate or representative.  Staff can also refer to section 5.6 for a further list of organisations that can be accessed.  Clients can also be signposted to the Citizens Advice Bureau for guidance.

6. Definitions

• 6.1  Compliment
• A compliment is an expression of satisfaction about a service the client has received
• Compliments are positive feedback that can be received verbally or in writing and can include expressions of praise, admiration, congratulation and encouragement
• 6.2  Complaint
• A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, disappointment or discontent.  This could be in response to an act of omission, decision or act
• Complaints can be made in various ways and include:
  • Verbally
  • Electronically
  • Local feedback channels
  • Writing
• 6.3  Self-Funded Care
• Self-funded care is defined as care that is paid for entirely by the person receiving it

7. Key Facts – Professionals

• Professionals providing this service should be aware of the following:
• Receipt of complaints, suggestions and compliments is everyone’s responsibility and therefore you will know what to say and how to respond.  You will need to be able to promote an open, honest and transparent service to encourage people to feel able to feedback and raise concerns
• You will be involved in quality improvement planning in response to themes from both compliments and complaints received by the service.  Compliments will be recognised and celebrated and staff will be supported during any complaints investigations
• Any feedback received from clients or their representatives can influence positive change and quality delivery of care and must be discussed with your manager

8. Key Facts – People Affected by the Service

• People affected by this service should be aware of the following:
• You have the right to feel confident to raise a concern, make a suggestion or give a compliment
• The process for you to raise a concern., make a suggestion or give a compliment will be simple and you will feel listened to and understood
• Your concerns, suggestions and compliments will make a positive difference to future care at My Care at Home

Complaint Procedure for Clients

1. Introduction

We always aim to provide a high standard of care in all our services.

Our clients’ views are important to us and help to ensure our services are consistently meeting people’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 a possible abuse or neglect, we will tell Suffolk County Council’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 the Manager or their Deputy
• Utilise available comments or suggestion slips (found at the back of the care plan folder) if you would rather make your suggestion that way
• If the suggestion is something that My Care at Home as a company needs to consider you can send it to:

Michelle Homan
Care Manager
My Care at Home
117 Ipswich Street
Stowmarket
Suffolk 
IP14 1BB

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.

My Care at Home assures clients and their families that it will not withdraw or reduce services because someone makes a complaint in good faith.

4. Who Can Complain

Anyone affected by the way My care at Home 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 able 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
• Through a member of our staff
• Through an advocate or representative

When someone complains verbally we will make a written record and provide a copy of it within 2 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 their 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 My Care at Home may ask one of the management team to investigate the complaint.  That person will have enough seniority and experience to deal with the issue raised by the complaint.

We will formally acknowledge a complaint within 2 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 finished 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 to the date on which the event occurred or came to your notice.  If you complain more than 12 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

• 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 at:

My Care at Home
117 Ipswich Street
Stowmarket
Suffolk
IP14 1BB
Tel:  01449 678000
Email:  michelle.holman@mycare-athome.co.uk
Website:  www.mycare-athome.co.uk

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

customerrights@suffolk.gov.uk

 or call 0345 266 1821.

• 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

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

• My Care at Home services are registered with and regulated by the Care Quality Commission.  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 (CQC)
National Correspondence
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA
Tel:  03000 616161
Fax:  03000 616171
Website: www.cqc.org.uk