Complaints Procedure - Daffodil Aesthetics

Foreword

Daffodil Aesthetics are Nurse Practitioners offering Aesthetics in Sheffield. As such we aim to provide exceptional customer service for all of our customers.

If you feel that we have not provided the quality service that you expect, and we are unable to resolve the matter in person, we have a complaints policy and procedure that you can follow.

This is a copy of our complaints policy and how we will deal with your complaint. The policy outlines procedures and responsibilities within DAFFODIL AESTHETICS for handling any concerns, issues or complaints that may arise.

Document Control

Confidentiality Notice

This document and the information contained therein is the property of DAFFODIL AESTHETICS . This document contains information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. It must not be used by, or its contents reproduced or otherwise copied or disclosed without the prior consent in writing from DAFFODIL AESTHETICS.

Organisation: DAFFODIL AESTHETICS
Current Version Number: 1
Current Document Approved By: Joanne Bailey
Date Approved: Dec 2021
Next Review Date: Nov 2022 (or before if required)

Document Revision and Approval History

Version 2
Date July 2022
Version Created By: C.McNeill
Version Approved By: J. Bailey
Comments: First Issue

Complaints Policy

1. INTRODUCTION

This policy outlines procedures and responsibilities within DAFFODIL AESTHETICS for handling any concerns, issues or complaints that may arise.

2. RELEVANT CQC FUNDAMENTAL STANDARD/H+SC ACT REGULATION (2014)

Regulation 16: “Complaints”.

3. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that any complaints or concerns by service users are correctly managed.

DAFFODIL AESTHETICS, although an independent body aspires to meet the principles set out in the NHS Constitution which are:

The right to have any complaint made about our services dealt with efficiently and to have it properly investigated.
The right to know the outcome of any investigation into a complaint.
The right to take a complaint to independent review if the complainant is not satisfied with the way their complaint has been dealt with by us
The commitment to ensure service users are treated with courtesy and receive appropriate support throughout the handling of a complaint; and the fact that they have complained will not adversely affect their future treatment.
When mistakes happen, they shall be acknowledged; an apology made; an explanation given of what went wrong; and the problem rectified quickly and effectively.
Demonstrating a commitment to ensure that the organisation learns lessons from complaints and claims and uses these to improve our services.

This policy serves to indicate how issues concerning service user concerns or complaints should be managed within the organisation.

4. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The CQC Registered Manager holds overall responsibility for ensuring the development, implementation and operation of this policy regarding complaints. This will include appointment of a designated Complaints Manager.

The CQC Registered Manager will also lead and oversee the process of the implementation of this policy, as well as monitoring its compliance and effectiveness.

Our designated Complaints Manager will be: Joanne Bailey

Responsible for managing the procedures for handling and considering complaints.
Ensuring that replies are drafted and signed by the CQC Registered Manager Joanne Bailey or other authorised person.
Responsible for ensuring that action is taken if necessary, in the light of the outcome of a complaint or investigation.
Responsible for the effective management of the complaint’s procedure.

5. POLICY STATEMENT

Everyone has the right to expect a positive experience and a good treatment outcome. In the event of concern or complaint, service users have a right to be listened to and to be treated with respect.

As an authorised provider, DAFFODIL AESTHETICS will manage complaints properly so user concerns are dealt with appropriately. Good complaint handling matters because it is an important way of ensuring our users receive the service they are entitled to expect.

Complaints are also a valuable source of feedback; they provide an audit trail and can be an early warning of failures in service delivery. When handled well, complaints provide an opportunity to improve service and reputation.

Our Aims & Objectives

We aim to provide a service that meets the needs of our service users and we strive for a high standard of care;
We welcome suggestions from service users and from our staff about the safety and quality of service, treatment and care we provide, we have feedback forms visible in clinic.
We are committed to an effective and fair complaints system; and
We support a culture of openness and willingness to learn from incidents, including complaints.

6. COMPLAINTS PRINCIPLES

Service users are encouraged to provide suggestions, compliments, concerns and complaints and we offer a range of ways to do it including feedback cards.

All complainants are treated with respect, sensitivity and confidentiality.
All complaints are handled without prejudice or assumptions about how minor or serious they are. The emphasis is on resolving the problem.
Service users and staff can make complaints on a confidential basis or anonymously if they wish and be assured that their identity will be protected.
Service users will not to be discriminated against or suffer any unjust adverse consequences as a result of making a complaint about standards of care and service.
Formal responses sent will include a right to appeal if the complainant remains unsatisfied.

7.COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

DAFFODIL AESTHETICS aim to provide all clients with the highest standards of care and customer service. If we fail to achieve this, we listen carefully and respond to complaints swiftly,acknowledging any mistakes and rectifying them so that we can make improvements to our service. The complaints full policy is made available to patients, and is visible in clinic, their affected relative or a representative when they first raise concerns about any aspect of the service they have received.

There will be 3 stages to Provider’s complaints process: -

• Stage 1 – Local resolution.

• Stage 2 – Internal appeal.

• Stage 3 – Independent external review.

Stage 1 - Local Resolution

1. All complaints should be raised directly with the CQC Registered Manager (or Complaints Manager if different) in the first instance and should normally be made as soon as possible / within 6 months of the date of the event complained about, or as soon as the matter first came to the attention of the complainant.

2. The Patient will be given a copy of the complaints procedure and invited to attend a face-to-face meeting with the CQC Registered Manager (or Complaints Manager if different) and other relevant parties to talk through their concerns and to try and resolve the issue at an early stage.

3. The CQC Registered Manager (or Complaints Manager if different) will go through a thorough process of investigation to include reviewing the case in detail and taking statements from all staff members / doctors concerned. The CQC Registered Manager (or Complaints Manager if different) responds directly to the person who has made the complaint, whether the complaint was made verbally, by letter, text or email.

4. To make a formal complaint the complainant should write or e-mail to provider clearly stating the nature of their complaint and as much detail concerning dates, times and if known names of staff members. This will enable us to acknowledge and address the issues raised promptly and effectively

5. The CQC Registered Manager (or Complaints Manager if different) will acknowledge receipt of a written complaint, to the complainant’s postal address provided (or via email) within 3 working days of receipt (unless a full reply can be sent within 5 days).

6. The CQC Registered Manager (or Complaints Manager if different) or their designated person will investigate all complaints. Where Provider is unclear on any point or issue regarding the complaint, it will contact the complainant to seek clarification.

7. A full response to the complaint will usually be made within 20 working days or, where the investigation is still in progress, send a letter explaining the reason for the delay to the complainant, at a minimum, every 20 working days. The aim should be to complete stage 1 in most cases within three months.

In the event that the complainant is dissatisfied with the response to their complaint they can escalate their complaint to Stage 2, and must do so in writing, within 6 months of the final response to their complaint at Stage 1.

Stage 2 - Complaint Review

1. If the complainant escalates their complaint to Stage 2, the CQC Registered Manager Joanne Bailey will provide a written acknowledgement to complainants within 3 working days of receipt of their complaint at stage 2 (unless a full reply can be sent within 5 working days).

2. The CQC Registered Manager (or Complaints Manager if different) will have arrangements in place by which to conduct an objective review of the complaint. Normally this will involve a senior member of staff who has not been involved in handling of the complaint at stage 1.

3. Stage 2 shall involve a review of all the documentation and may include interviews with relevant staff. The records made as part of the stage 2 review should be complete and retained since these may be required for a stage 3 process.

4. Provide a review of the investigation and the response made at stage 1.

5. Invite the clinic that responded at stage 1 to make a further response, where there is an opportunity to resolve the complaint by taking a further look at a specific matter. The complainant should be kept informed where this happens.

6. Consider whether the review at stage 2 would be supported by facilitating a face-to-face meeting (or teleconference, where acceptable) between the complainant and those who responded to the complaint at stage 1.

7. Provide a full response on the outcome of the review within 20 working days or, where the investigation is still in progress, send a letter explaining the reason for the delay to the complainant, at a minimum, every 20 working days.

8. The aim should be to complete the review at stage 2 in most cases within three months.

In the event that the complainant is dissatisfied with the response to their complaint they may escalate their complaint to Stage 3.

Stage 3 - Independent External Adjudication

At Stage 3 complainants have the right to an independent external adjudication of their complaint.

Complainants cannot access Stage 3 until they have gone through Stages 1 and 2 and to access Stage 3, complainants are asked to sign a ‘Statement of Understanding and Consent’, thereby agreeing to the parameters of Stage 3.

Complainants will need to set out in writing for the Adjudicator: (a) The reasons for the complaint (b) What aspects of the complaint remain unresolved after Stages 1 and 2 (c) What outcome the complainant is seeking The organisation is not a subscriber to ISCAS, so one or more of the following routes for external adjudication will be offered:

a) Contact the Citizens Advice Service

Citizens Advice provides free, confidential and independent advice from over 3,000 locations, including in their bureaux, GP surgeries, hospitals, colleges, prisons and courts. Advice is available face-to-face and by phone.

b) Seeking assistance from the Patients Association visit: https://www.patients-association.org.uk/helpline

c) Raising the matter with the Care Quality Commission.

Call us on: 03000 616161
Email us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Look at our website at: www.cqc.org.uk

8.MANAGING COMPLAINTS

All staff are expected to encourage service users to provide feedback about the service, including complaints, concerns, suggestions, and compliments.
Staff are expected to attempt resolution of complaints and concerns at the point of service, wherever possible and within the scope of their role and responsibility.

9. STAFF TRAINING

All staff will be appropriately trained to manage complaints competently.

Regular reviews are conducted by the complaints manager to check understanding of the complaints process among our staff.

10.PROMOTING FEEDBACK

Information is provided about the complaints policy in a variety of ways, including some or all the following:

On our website;
Publicity about the service;
Posters in reception;
Discretely located suggestion boxes; and by staff inviting feedback and comments.

11. RISK ASSESSMENT

After receiving a formal complaint, our CQC Registered Manager reviews the issues in consultation with relevant staff to decide what action should be taken, consistent with the risk management procedure.

12.RECORDS AND PRIVACY

The complaints manager maintains a complaints register.
Personal information in individual complaints is kept confidential and is only made available to those who need it to deal with the complaint.
Complainants are given notice about how their personal information is likely to be used during the investigation of a complaint.
Individual complaints files are kept in a secure filing cabinet in the clinic and in a restricted access section of the computer system’s file server.
Service users are provided with access to their medical records in accordance with our Subject Access policy. Others requesting access to a service users’ medical records as part of resolving a complaint are provided with access only if the service user has provided authorisation in accordance with the Subject Access policy.

13. COMPLAINTS ABOUT INDIVIDUALS

Where an individual staff member has been mentioned specifically by a complainant, the matter will be investigated by the relevant manager or supervisor, who will:

Inform the staff member of the complaint made against them;
Ensure that if possible, the member of staff does not have any contact with the complainant during the investigation period, or afterwards if deemed appropriate;
Ensure fairness and confidentiality is maintained during the investigation; and
Encourage the staff member to seek advice from their professional association/body, if desired.

The staff members will be asked to provide a factual report of the incident, identify systems issues that may have contributed to the incident and suggest possible preventive measures.

Where the investigation of a complaint results in findings and recommendations about individual staff members, the issues are addressed through the Disciplinary or other appropriate process

14.REPORTING AND RECORDING COMPLAINTS

The complaints manager prepares regular reports on the number and type of complaints, the outcomes of complaints, recommendations for change and any subsequent action that has been taken. The reports are provided to staff and senior management, and if appropriate, uploaded into personal portfolio for audit and appraisal.

Information about trends in complaints and how individual complaints are resolved is routinely discussed at staff meetings and clinical review meetings as part of reflecting on the performance of the service and opportunities for improvement.

Complaints reports are considered and discussed at monthly clinical review meetings and directors’ meetings.

An annual quality improvement report is published that includes information on:

The number and main types of complaints received, common outcomes and how complaints have resulted in changes;
How complaints were managed—how the complaints system was promoted, how long it took to resolve complaints (and whether this is consistent with the policy) and whether complainants and staff were satisfied with the process and outcomes; and
The results of any service user satisfaction survey.
The service promotes changes it has made as a result of service user complaints and suggestions in its general publicity.

15.VEXATIOUS COMPLAINTS(/h4)

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 patient:

The complaint will be managed by one named individual at senior level who will be the only contact for the patient
Contact will be limited to one method only (e.g. in writing)
Place a time limit on each contact
The number of contacts in a time period will be restricted
A witness may be present for all contacts
Repeated complaints about the same issue will be refused
Only acknowledge correspondence regarding a closed matter, not respond to it
Set behaviour standards
Return irrelevant documentation
Keep detailed records.

16. COMPLAINTS ABOUT INDIUAL MEMBERS OF STAFF

Where an individual clinician or staff member has been nominated by a complainant, the matter will be investigated by the relevant manager or supervisor, who will:

Inform the clinician or staff member of the complaint made against them;
Ensure no judgement is made against a clinician or staff member while an investigation is being carried out;
Ensure fairness and confidentiality is maintained during the investigation; and
Encourage the clinician or staff member to seek advice from their professional association, if desired.

The clinicians and staff members will be asked to provide a factual report of the incident, identify systems issues that may have contributed to the incident and suggest possible preventive measures.

Where the investigation of a complaint results in findings and recommendations about individual clinicians and staff members, the issues are addressed through the service’s staff performance and review process.

17.MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The complaints manager continuously monitors the amount of time taken to resolve complaints, whether recommended changes have been acted on and whether satisfactory outcomes have been achieved.

The complaints manager annually reviews the complaints management system to evaluate if the complaints policy is being complied with and how it measures up against best practice guidelines. As part of the evaluation, users and staff will be asked to comment on their awareness of the policy and how well it works in practice.