Complaints Policy - Abbeycare Scotland

Concerns & Complaints (Scotland) Policy & Procedures

This policy is intended to set out the values, principles and procedures underpinning the Abbeycare Scotland approach to handling clients’ complaints about their care and treatment in line with the National Health and Social Care Standards, My Support, My Life (June 2017 and in force from April 2018).

The rights to complain can be found under Standard 4: “I have confidence in the organisation providing my care and support”.

4.20: I know how, and can be helped, to make a complaint or raise a concern about my care and support.
4.21: If I have a concern or complaint, this will be discussed with me and acted on without negative consequences for me.
4.22: If the care and support that I need is not available or delayed, people explain the reasons for this and help me to find a suitable alternative.

Policy Statement

Abbeycare Scotland works on the principle that if a client wishes to make a complaint or register a concern, they should find it easy to do so. It is Abbeycare policy to welcome complaints and look upon them as an opportunity to learn, adapt, improve, and provide better services. It will always seek to find a workable solution to any concern or complaint. This policy is intended to ensure that complaints are dealt with properly and that all complaints or comments by clients and their relatives and carers are taken seriously.

The policy is not designed to apportion blame, to consider the possibility of negligence or to provide compensation. It is not the same as the disciplinary policy. However, Abbeycare understands that failure to listen to or acknowledge complaints could lead to an aggravation of problems, client dissatisfaction and possible litigation.

Abbeycare Scotland supports the principle that most complaints, if dealt with early, openly and honestly, can be sorted at a local level, i.e. between the complainant and Abbeycare Scotland or its parent organisation Abbeycare Group. If this fails due to the complainant being dissatisfied with the result, the service respects the right of the complainant to take the complaint to the Care Inspectorate, which will then investigate the complaint.

The aim is always to make sure that the complaints procedure is properly and effectively implemented and that clients feel confident that their complaints and worries are listened to and acted upon promptly and fairly.

Abbeycare Scotland works on the basis that wherever possible, complaints are best dealt with directly with the clients by its staff and management, who will arrange for the appropriate enquiries to be made in line with the nature of the complaint.

This can involve using an independent investigator as appropriate or if the complaint raises a protection issue referral to the local adult support and protection team.

Abbeycare Scotland recognises that a complainant always has a right to take their complaint to the Care Inspectorate which will investigate the complaint in line with its policy and procedures. The Care Inspectorate policy is to seek local resolution as a first line. Clients and their representatives are therefore always advised to make any complaint initially to the service management, which will address the matter through its complaint’s procedure.

Clients are still made aware that they can take their complaint to the Care Inspectorate at any time, but more particularly if they think that Abbeycare is not addressing their complaint adequately or they are dissatisfied with the outcome.

Abbeycare Scotland makes available to all clients or shows them how to obtain the Care Inspectorate’s leaflet, Unhappy with a Care Service, from its website. The service also makes clients aware that they can use an online complaints form, which can be downloaded from the Care Inspectorate website.

Abbeycare Scotland is committed to acting promptly on any complaint it upholds through its internal complaints procedure and on any complaint upheld by the Care Inspectorate following its investigation.

If after investigations by Abbeycare and the Care Inspectorate complainants are still dissatisfied with the management and outcome of their complaint, they can have the matter referred to the Scottish Ombudsman Service for independent adjudication.

For the purposes of dealing with a complaint about its service, Abbeycare Scotland accepts full responsibility for the practice and actions of all employees, who work under its direction, management and supervision, including temporary staff.

There might be occasions when a complaint is not appropriate for the service to address, for example, when the complaint is about people who are employed by other organisations. In these instances, Abbeycare will direct the complainant to the relevant organisation for investigation although it will remain closely involved in the procedures and outcomes.

Some complaints might need to be addressed jointly with other organisations and Abbeycare Scotland will fully co-operate with them to address the complaint fully. It also fully co-operates with the Care Inspectorate’s investigation of any complaint it receives directly.

Protection Issues

In the event of the complaint involving alleged abuse or a suspicion that abuse has occurred, Abbeycare Scotland refers the matter immediately to the local adult support and protection team. Abbeycare will also notify the Care Inspectorate.

Principles of Complaints Handling

Clients, their representatives, and carers are always made aware from the onset of treatment at Abbeycare Scotland of how to complain.
Abbeycare Scotland provides easy-to-use opportunities for them to register their complaints.
A named person is always responsible for the administration of the procedure.
Every written complaint is acknowledged within two to three working days.
Investigations into written complaints are held within 28 days.
All complaints are responded to in writing.
Complaints are dealt with promptly, fairly, and sensitively with due regard to the upset and worry that they can cause to service users and those against whom the complaint has been made.
People are informed that they can always take their complaint to the Care Inspectorate.

Procedures

Verbal Complaints

Abbeycare Scotland adopts the following procedures for responding to complaints and concerns made verbally to staff or to managers.

All verbal complaints, no matter how seemingly unimportant, are taken seriously.
Front-line care staff who receive a verbal complaint are instructed to address the problem straight away.
If staff cannot solve the problem immediately, they should offer to get the manager to deal with the problem.
All contact with the complainant should be polite, courteous, and sympathetic. There is nothing to be gained by staff adopting a defensive or aggressive attitude.
At all times staff should remain calm and respectful.
Staff should not make excuses or blame other staff.
If the complaint is being made on behalf of the client by an advocate it must first be verified that the person has permission to speak for the client, especially if confidential information is involved.
It is very easy to assume that the advocate has the right or power to act for the client when they may not. If in doubt it should be assumed that the client’s explicit permission is needed prior to discussing the complaint with the advocate.
After talking the problem through, the manager or the member of staff dealing with the complaint will suggest a course of action to resolve the complaint. If this course of action is acceptable then the member of staff will clarify the agreement with the complainant and agree a way in which the results of the complaint will be communicated to the complainant (ie through another meeting or by letter).
If the suggested plan of action is not acceptable to the complainant, then the member of staff or manager will ask the complainant to put their complaint in writing.
Details of all verbal complaints are recorded in the complaints register by the Service Manager who receive the complaint and on the individual’s care records with information on how a specific matter was addressed.

Details of all verbal complaints are recorded in the complaints register by the Service Manager who receive the complaint and on the individual’s care records with information on how a specific matter was addressed.

Written Complaints

Abbeycare Scotland adopts the following procedures for responding to written complaints.

Preliminary Steps

Initial formal complaints should be made within to;

Douglas McFarlane - Registered Manager, Abbeycare Scotland, Erskine Mains House, Meadows Drive, Erskine, Renfrewshire, PA8 7ED

When a complaint is received in writing it is passed on to the Registered Manager who records it in the complaints register and sends an acknowledgement letter within two to three working days, which describes the procedure to be followed.
The Registered Manager deals with the complaint throughout the process.
If necessary, further details are obtained from the complainant. If the complaint is not made by the client but on the client’s behalf, then consent of the client, preferably in writing, is obtained from the complainant.
If the complaint raises potentially serious matters, advice will be sought from a legal advisor. If legal action is taken at this stage any investigation under the complaint’s procedure should cease immediately pending the outcome of the legal intervention.

A complainant, who is not prepared to have the investigation conducted by Abbeycare Scotland or is dissatisfied with the Abbeycare response to the complaint, is advised to contact the Care Inspectorate so that it can address the complaint in line with its Procedure for Handling Complaints (available on its website) www.careinspectorate.com

Local Investigation Of The Complaint

Abbeycare Scotland adopts the following procedures for investigating and assessing the complaint.

Immediately on receipt of a written complaint, Abbeycare will launch an investigation and aims within 28 days to provide a full explanation to the complainant, either in writing or by arranging a meeting with the individuals concerned.
If the issues are too complex to complete the investigation within 28 days, the complainant will be informed of any delay and the reason for the delay.

Meeting

If a meeting is arranged the complainant is advised that they may, if they wish, bring a friend or relative or a representative such as an advocate.
At the meeting, a detailed explanation of the results of the investigation is given. The complaint will either be upheld, and appropriate redress will follow or not upheld.
In the case of a complaint not being upheld, Abbeycare might still issue a formal apology for what has happened, which is not necessarily an admission that it was at fault.
Such a meeting gives Abbeycare Scotland the opportunity to show the complainant that the matter has been taken seriously and has been thoroughly investigated and that Abbeycare is prepared to learn from the experience to improve its service.

Follow-up Action

After the meeting, or if the complainant does not want a meeting, a written account of the investigation is sent to the complainant.
This includes details of how to take the complaint to the next stage if the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome.
The outcomes of the investigation and the meeting are recorded in the complaints register and any shortcomings in procedures are identified and acted upon.
The management reviews all complaints to determine what can be learned from them. It regularly reviews the complaints procedure to make sure it is working properly and is legally compliant.

Most problems should be sorted out at this stage, if not then the appeals process will be followed:

If the complainant is not satisfied that the problem has been resolved, they should contact the Operations Director again in writing within 28 days:
Liam Mehigan - Operations Director, Abbeycare Scotland, Erskine Mains House, Meadows Drive, Erskine, Renfrewshire, PA8 7ED

If the complainant and the service are still unable to reach agreement over the complaint an appeal should be made to the Chief Executive of Abbeycare Scotland within 28 days to review and a final response will be provided on behalf of the company.

Paul Bowley - Chief Executive, Abbeycare Scotland, Erskine Mains House, Meadows Drive, Erskine
Renfrewshire, PA8 7ED
Email: complaintssco@abbeycare.co.uk

It is important that all complaints are handled following the above staged process to address and resolve all complaints regarding delivery of our service.

Training

All care staff are trained to respond correctly to complaints of any kind. Complaint’s policy training is included in the induction training for all new staff and updated as indicated by any changes in the policy and procedures and in the light of experience of addressing complaints.

Formal Complaints

Formal complaints should be made as soon as possible after the event that was the cause of the problem. This makes it easier for everyone to remember what happened and helps the service to respond quickly. Ideally, all complaints should be made within one month.

Complaints should have as much relevant information as possible including the complainants name and address. If relevant, it should also give details and dates of residence at the service.

When we receive a written complaint, we will respond to the client or their representative within two working days to confirm that we have received their letter of complaint. The Registered Manager will then investigate the concern. He/she may ask to meet the complainant to discuss their concerns further. The complainant can also ask for a meeting if they feel that it would be helpful. No record is made of the complaint on the client’s personal files, so making a claim will not affect their future care in any way.

Formal complaints should be made direct to the Registered Manager. We will always do our best to give a full reply as quickly as possible. Clients can expect to receive a response within four weeks. However, it may take longer to investigate the complaint fully, especially if the issues are complicated. If a delay occurs, we will still write to the complainant within four weeks to let them know how the matter is progressing. In our reply, we will try to tell them what action we are taking to make sure the problem they raised does not happen again.

How to Make a Complaint Directly to the Care Inspectorate:

If the client or their representative wishes to make a complaint directly to the Care Inspectorate (SCSWIS), or if the service advises them that it would be more appropriate, they should contact them at the address below:

The local Care Inspectorate (SCSWIS) office address is:
Care Inspectorate (SCSWIS), Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire, PA1 1BF

You may complain by phoning the national enquiry line below:
0345 600 9527

You may complain online on the Care Inspectorate website listed below:
www.careinspectorate.com

Complaints Policy (Abbeycare Scotland)