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Complaints Policy

Complaints and Concerns: 

1. Introduction
1.1 Parkhaven Trust aims to provide services that are of a high quality and sensitive to the needs and wishes of its users, their relatives and friends. Sometimes we do not get things quite right and we must therefore make it possible for people to complain. The purpose of this policy is to outline how complaints received by Parkhaven Trust will be
dealt with.
1.2 Duty of Candour. Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 ensures that Parkhaven Trust is open and transparent with people who use services and other ‘relevant persons’ (people acting lawfully on their behalf) in general in relation to care and treatment. It also sets out some specific requirements that Parkhaven Trust must follow when things go wrong with care and treatment, including informing people about the incident, providing reasonable support, providing truthful information and an
apology when things go wrong.

2. Principles
2.1 Parkhaven Trust will take all complaints seriously and respond within specific timescales. The Trust will do its best to learn from complaints and will make any changes necessary as a consequence of complaints to improve the quality of the
services it provides.
2.2 Many complaints are due to failures of communication or misunderstanding between individuals. The Trust will communicate with all parties in an open and honest way.
2.3 Wherever possible, attempts will be made to resolve complaints informally and within the particular service where the concerns arose. If this is not possible, or the complaint is more serious, the matter will be referred to a more senior manager or the chief
executive to respond.
2.4 Crucial to the delivery of a high quality service is to listen to the views of service users and their carers.
2.5 All complaints should be investigated thoroughly, fairly and as speedily as circumstances permit, and be brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

3. Procedure
3.1 A complaint may be made by a service user, relative, friend, visitor, staff member, or a care professional from another agency or a member of the general public. It may be made verbally or in writing.
Verbal Complaints
3.2 Most complaints can be resolved satisfactorily through discussion with all those concerned. A verbal complaint will be recorded in the service complaints file by the person receiving it. The manager responsible for the service will attempt to sort out the problem to the complainant’s satisfaction. The majority of these complaints are generally resolved quickly to the satisfaction of the person concerned. Any action taken and the outcome will be recorded in the service complaints file.
Written Complaints
3.3 A written complaint may be presented by the person themselves or by someone acting on their behalf. A written complaint received by a service manager should be forwarded to the Chief Executive.
3.4 The complainant will be acknowledged in writing within three working days. The Chief Executive will ask the appropriate manager to thoroughly investigate the matter and provide a written report. Where possible, an initial verbal response will be given to the complainant. A written response will be sent from the Chief Executive or from a member of the senior management team within 21 days of the receipt of the complaint. The response will detail the outcome of the investigation, the actions taken to ensure the matter will not arise again, an apology and an offer to meet to discuss the contents of the letter. Most complaints will be concluded within the timescale but more serious complaints, for example those where the police need to be involved, may take longer. In these circumstances the complainant will be kept informed of progress on a regular basis.
3.5 If the complainant is dissatisfied with the response, they will be asked to put their remaining concerns in writing to the Chief Executive, who will review the matter with the investigating manager, reply to the complainant with any additional information or action and again offer to meet. The Chief Executive will write to the complainant within 21 days.
3.6 If the complainant remains dissatisfied, they can write to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, who will conduct a further investigation and review of the complaint to which the complainant will be invited. A response to the complainant will be given in
writing within 14 days. All parties will be given a copy of the response.
3.7 The Chairman’s response will be final.
3.8 If the complainant or their representative is not satisfied either with the investigation process, the communication system or the outcome, they have the right at any stage to independent advice from an outside source. Alternatively, advice may also be sought from:
CQC National Customer Service Centre, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4PA.
Tel: 03000616161
www.cqc.org.uk/tellus 
3.9 Where there is evidence that a crime may have been committed, it is the policy of Parkhaven Trust to refer the matter to the police in the interests’ of all concerned. In certain circumstances, it is also necessary to inform the Care Quality Commission. This may affect the timescales within which the Trust is able to respond to a complaint.
3.10 All complaints are reported to the Board of Trustees as part of their quarterly monitoring of activity and quality.
3.11 All complaints, investigations and outcomes will be kept on file for three years.

Operations Manager
October 2021