Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS POLICY AND PROCEDURES
At Age UK Doncaster we are committed to providing the highest standard of quality in all that we do and across the range of services we provide. We are thoroughly committed to ensuring that any compliments or complaints you have are taken seriously and dealt with thoroughly and in a timely manner. We strive to continuously improve our practice and ways of working to provide the highest standard of services possible for our client’s and their key individuals. Your compliments and complaints are vital in helping us to achieve this. Letting us know what is working and what is not working well for you and any areas you feel we can improve in any way, enables us to:
- Celebrate our achievements
- Identify what is working well so we can adapt and apply this in other areas
- Evidence the great work that we do and the real impact this has
- Reflect on our practices to learn from any mistakes
- Identify where we need to make changes within our services
- Develop and implement new or improved services that will make a real difference to our clients and their key individuals
COMPLIMENTS PROCEDURE
Please share your compliments, comments or positive experiences with us in any way you feel comfortable. This could be:
- Verbally to any member of the team
- In writing to the appropriate Service Manager
- Via a card
All compliments are passed on to the appropriate Service Manager who will then send the relevant members of the team a formal letter letting them know of your comments.
If you would like to share your compliments, comments or positive experiences with The Care Quality Commission, Local Authority or Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group, please do so using the contact details outlined below in the complaints procedure.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
If you are unhappy about any aspect of our service, we hope very much that you will tell us.
There are two ways in which you can do this
INFORMAL PROCEDURE
A complaint can be made to any member of the team who works with Age UK Doncaster. All complaints will be acknowledged verbally or in writing and investigated and you will receive a reply within 14 days.
If you are not satisfied or the complaint you wish to make is too serious to be dealt with informally then you should use the formal procedure.
FORMAL PROCEDURE
Complaints made using the formal procedure must be made in writing to the appropriate Service Manager. All complaints will be acknowledged in writing and will be investigated by the appropriate Service Manager. You will receive a reply within 14 days. In some circumstances this may not be possible, but you will receive an explanation for the delay within 14 days and a full reply given within 28 days. Age UK Doncaster can be contacted at:
Age UK Doncaster
Unit 1
Ten Pound Walk
Doncaster
DN4 5HX
Tel: 01302 812345
E-mail: admin@ageukdoncaster.org.uk
Company No. 3802384
Charity No. 1077339
RIGHT OF APPEAL
If you are not happy with the decision regarding your formal complaint you can ask the Chief Executive, in writing, to have the decision reviewed. This review will be carried out by the Board of Trustees of Age UK Doncaster and will take place within 28 days of the appeal request. You will then be informed of the outcome in writing. Age UK Doncaster can be contacted via the above information.
SERVICES COMMISSIONED BY LOCAL AUTHORITY AND SOUTH YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD
Alternatively, if you are receiving a service which has been commissioned by the Local Authority or South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and are not happy with the response to your complaint by Age UK Doncaster or you do not want to contact Age UK Doncaster directly in the first instance you have the right to complain to the Local Authority OR South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board. You can make your complaint to:
ISAT – Integrated Support & Assessment Team Doncaster Council
Civic Building
Waterdale
Doncaster
DN1 3BU
E-mail: comments&complaints@doncaster.gov.uk
Tel: 01302 737391
Minicom: 01302 737796
South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board
Joanne Watkinson
South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board
Sovereign House
Ten Pound Walk
Doncaster
DN4 5HZ
E-mail: DONCC9.doncastercontinuingcare@NHS.net
Tel: 01302 565656
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL CARE OMBUDSMAN
If you are unhappy with the response or outcome of your complaint you can refer your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. You can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman via:
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
Opening hours are Monday 8.30am to 12pm, Tuesday - Friday 8.30am - 5pm
Request a call back by texting: CALL BACK to 07624811595
THE CARE QUALITY COMMISSION
Age UK Doncaster is a registered Homecare care agency. If you have a complaint the Care Quality Commission advise that you follow all the appropriate steps as outlined above. The Care Quality Commission cannot make or take up a complaint on your behalf as they do not have the power to investigate or resolve your complaint, however the Care Quality Commission would still like to know if you have serious concerns about your provider. If you wish to make your complaint known to the Care Quality Commission You can contact the Care Quality Commission at:
Yorkshire and Humberside Region
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA
Tel: 030000 616161
Fax: 03000 616172
E-mail: north@cqc.org.uk
REGISTER OF COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS
A register of all compliments and complaints including responses and other related correspondence, or information will be kept and maintained by the appropriate Service Manager and an overall compliment and complaint register for the organisation will be kept by the Chief Executive of Age UK Doncaster.
All compliments and complaints will be reviewed by the Trends Analysis Group / Incident Review Group on a quarterly basis and any appropriate information escalated to the Chief Executive Officer.
All above information will be available for regular inspection by the Board of Trustees, Care Quality Commission upon formal request or inspection and the Local Authority or Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group for those services they have commissioned.
All information will be kept, maintained, stored and shared in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulations and the Care Act 2014 Regulation 16.
This policy may be amended by Age UK Doncaster at any time to consider changes in best practice and legislation.