We believe that complaints and compliments are a valuable indicator of the quality of our service and an opportunity to improve that quality. We assure all our clients will not be victimized for making a complaint. We encourage our clients to instigate the complaint procedure whenever they feel that this is necessary. We do not wish to confine complaints to major issues. We encourage our clients to comment when relatively minor matters are a problem to them. It is our policy that all matters which disturb or upset a client should be reported, recorded, and corrective action should be taken. Only in that way can we work towards meeting our aim of continuously improving our services.
Our commitments are that:
- All complaints will be taken seriously.
- All complaints will be acted upon with fairness and impartiality.
- You will receive a response within 24 hours of the complaint being made, and a final reply within 28 days.
- If the complaint is upheld, you will receive a written apology and appropriate action will be taken to rectify the complaint, and you will be informed of what that action is.
- Service users are entitled to involve an impartial third party in the complaint procedure if they so wish.
Service users and their representatives may take their complaints to persons in authority outside the Agency. For service users funded all or in part by Social Services or the Primary Care Trust, complaints may in the first instance be directed to them. For privately funded clients, a range of advocacy services are available locally and they will be happy to help you deal with the complaint. In the event of a serious issue and complaint, you should contact the CQC.