Raising a Complaint!

However excellent our efforts might be in providing our services to you, there could always be a cause for dissatisfaction in an area of healthcare service such as ours.  It is not feasible, nor desirable, to have a complaint free service as complaints provide the opportunity to continually improve the quality of care we strive to deliver through effective reflection.

If you are unhappy with the treatment or service you have received while under our care, you have the right to make a complaint, have it investigated thoroughly, and have a response with action plans identified.

We provide a range of services to the NHS, occupational health sectors, medicolegal sector, employers, and the public, all of whom are included within this complaint management procedure.

Complaint Process

You may make a comment or complaint either in person, in writing, email or by telephone. The member of staff who receives the complaint should fill in the complaint action sheet and inform you (the complainant) that we will look into the matter and when you can expect a reply.

You will  be contacted within three working days to acknowledge that their complaint has been received, explain the procedure and, where necessary, clarify any issues arising from the complaint.

We have a duty to ask you (the complainant) what you want from the complaint, which may help the us decide the best way to deal with the matter. It is very important for us to record all discussions and document your desired outcome. Any unrealistic expectations can, therefore, be addressed at this time.

Stage 1) Local Resolution

 Where a verbal complaint is made, the clinic tries to resolve the complaint by means of local resolution measures. HS Health Group Ltd’ Deputy clinical service lead will collect all the information necessary and speak to you to resolve the complaint. If the complaint resolves, then the DCSL will record the complaint and discuss with the service manager. HS Health Group Ltd management will reflect on the type of complaint and take necessary actions to improve the quality of care and clinical governance. If a complaint does not resolve locally then the DCSL will explain about the stage 2 process of complaint procedure and pass your complaint over to the complaint’s officer/ service manager of the organisation.

 Stage 2) Complaints Officer

The second stage is where the complaint cannot be resolved in the clinic then complaints officer (Dipika Khanal) who deals with complaints will follow up the complaint.

If your complaint is directly related to the complaints officer and you feel unable to write directly to them, then instead you should forward your complaint to the Managing Director. We request that all complaints be made in writing to the postal address or to the email address below.

admin@hshealthgroup.co.uk, admin.hsphysio@nhs.net

Postal Address:

Your complaint should be addressed to:

Complaints Officer – HS  Health Group Ltd.
Read House, Gilbert Drive, Boston, PE21 7TQ
Contact telephone number: 0333 014 7700

When Complainants are Not Satisfied

Most complaints are resolved at  Stage 1 and Stage 2 levels. However, in some cases the complainant may not be satisfied following conciliation. We are a member of ISCAS (Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service) who will be involved at this stage for complaint review and management. We might also signpost the complainant to the Professional organisation such as Chartered Society of Physiotherapy or Health and Care Professions Council for further advice. This needs to be done within 56 days of the  final response sent at the end of Stage 2 investigation.

Investigating the Complaint

We will acknowledge the receipt of such a complaint within 3 working days and aim to resolve any possible issues within 14 working days of receipt.

Depending on the nature of the complaint, the Complaints Officer will attempt to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of the complainant. If the complaint involves either a clinical matter or staff member’s attitude, the Complaints Officer will, with the patient’s agreement, involve the  staff member concerned or the lead clinician for the clinics.

Replying to the Complainant

The Complaints officer should inform the complainant of the results of the investigation in writing. This should be completed as quickly as possible and will normally be completed within 14 working days. If it is not possible to complete the investigation within 14 working days, the complainant should be informed of the reason for the delay and when they can expect to receive a reply.

The response should include an explanation of how the complaint has been considered, the conclusions reached in respect of each specific part of the complaint, details of any necessary remedial action, and any actions taken / to be taken, because of the complaint.

The complainant should be informed at the end of the letter how to access the next stage of the complaints process if the complainant remains unsatisfied.

On completion of the investigation, a comprehensive response will be put together within the expected deadline.

This response should include the following, as appropriate:

• a summary of the patient’s treatment
• an outline of the investigation process.
• details of the staff involved
• answers to all aspects of the complaint
• any statements from staff or notes of interviews held.
• an apology, where appropriate.
• copies of any clinic policies, procedures or national guidance, which are relevant to the case; and
• an outline of any agreed action or risk reduction measures.

Complainants should be advised that they may request an independent review of their complaint and an ISCAS review will be initiated, or it can be done by the complainant  contacting the Healthcare Commission within 56 days of the date of the final response letter.

Time Limits for Making a Complaint

Normally a complaint should be made within 6 months from the incident. However, you can ask for the reasons for the delay and extend the time limits where it would be unreasonable to expect the complaint to have been made earlier and will be evaluated on case basis. This might be because the complainant had not realised there was a problem earlier, was ill or was caring for the patient. It may also depend on whether it is still possible to investigate the facts of the case, in spite of the delay. Wherever possible, you should address the complainant’s concerns constructively, while remaining fair to staff.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

NHS Patients who remain unsatisfied with the local resolution and independent review can also seek further review from the Health Service Ombudsman. They are independent of both the NHS and Private organisations. They can be contacted via their website www.ombudsman.org.uk. They will need to have received a written complaint response from us before they could review your complaint further.

ISCAS: THE CODE STRUCTURE

Please read the attached overleaf for more information on ISCAS’ code of practice for complaints management: ISCAS – Complaints Management.