Complaints Procedure

Excell Home Care views complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve for the future, as well as a chance to put things right for our valued clients.

Our policy is:
• To provide a fair complaints procedure which is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint
• To publicise the existence of our complaints procedure so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint
• To make sure everyone at Excell Home Care knows what to do if a complaint is received
• To make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way
• To make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired
•To gather information which helps us to improve what we do

Definition of a Complaint
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about any
Aspect of the service provided by Excell Home Care.
Where Complaints Come From

Complaints may come from any person who has a legitimate interest in Excell Home Care, e.g. clients and their families.  A complaint can be received verbally, by phone, by email or in writing.

NB This policy does not cover complaints from staff, which should use Excell Home Care's Discipline and Grievance policies.

Confidentiality
All complaint information will be handled sensitively, telling only those who need to
Know and following any relevant data protection requirements.
Responsibility

Overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation lies with the Registered Manager; or in their absence, the Nominated Individual. 

Review
This policy is reviewed regularly and updated as required.

Complaints Procedure of Excell Home Care
Contact Details for Complaints

Written complaints may be sent to:
Excell Home Care Ltd
97 High Street 
Mosborough
Sheffield
S20 5AF

Or by e-mail at: info@excellhomecare.co.uk
Verbal complaints may be made by phone: 0114 247 1428 or in person to any of Excell Home Care's office team. 

Receiving Complaints
Complaints may arrive through channels publicised for that purpose or through any
Other contact details or opportunities the complainant may have.

Complaints received by telephone or in person need to be recorded.

The person who receives a phone or in person complaint should:

• Write down the facts of the complaint
• Take the complainant's name, address and telephone number
• Note down the relationship of the complainant to Excell Home Care
• Tell the complainant that we have a complaints procedure
• Tell the complainant what will happen next and how long it will take
• Where appropriate, ask the complainant to send a written account by post or by
Email so that the complaint is recorded in the complainant’s own words.

For further guidelines about handling verbal complaints, see Appendix 1

Resolving Complaints

Stage One
• In many cases, a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, they may be able to resolve it swiftly and should do so if possible and appropriate.

• Whether or not the complaint has been resolved, the complaint information should be passed to the Registered Manager as soon as is practicably possible but within one week.

• On receiving the complaint, the Registered Manager will record it in the complaints log.  If it has not already been resolved, they delegate an appropriate person to investigate it and to take appropriate action.

• If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a fair opportunity to respond.

• Complaints should be acknowledged by the person handling the complaint within a week.  The acknowledgement should say who is dealing with the complaint and when the person complaining can expect a reply.  A copy of this complaints procedure should be attached.

• Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within four weeks.  If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

• Whether the complaint is justified or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

Stage Two
• If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at Stage One, they can request that the complaint is reviewed at Board level. At this stage, the complaint will be passed to the Nominated Individual. 

• The request for Board level review should be acknowledged within a week of receiving it. The acknowledgement should say who will deal with the case and when the complainant can expect a reply.

• The Nominated Individual may investigate the facts of the case themselves or delegate a suitably senior person to do so.  This may involve reviewing the paperwork of the case and speaking with the person who dealt with the complaint at Stage One.

• If the complaint relates to a specific person, they should be informed and given a further opportunity to respond.

• The person who dealt with the original complaint at Stage One should be kept informed of what is happening.

• Ideally complainants should receive a definitive reply within four weeks.  If this is not possible because for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report should be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

• Whether the complaint is upheld or not, the reply to the complainant should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

• The decision taken at this stage is final, unless the Board decides it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution. 

You may wish to consult a national body or other independent organisation i.e. ACAS. 

External Stage
The complainant can complain to the Charity Commission at any stage.
Information about the kind of complaints the Commission can involve itself in can be
Found on their website at: www.charitycommission.gov.uk/publications/cc47.aspx]


Variation of the Complaints Procedure
The Board may vary the procedure for good reason. This may be necessary to avoid a conflict of interest, for example, a complaint about the Nominated Individual should not also have that person as the person leading a Stage Two review.

Monitoring and Learning from Complaints
Complaints are reviewed annually to identify any trends which may indicate a need to take further action.

Appendix 1 - Practical Guidance for Handling Verbal Complaints
• Remain calm and respectful throughout the conversation
• Listen - allow the person to talk about the complaint in their own words.  Sometimes a person just wants to "let off steam"
• Don't debate the facts in the first instance, especially if the person is angry
• Show an interest in what is being said
• Obtain details about the complaint before any personal details
• Ask for clarification wherever necessary
• Show that you have understood the complaint by reflecting back what you have noted down
• Acknowledge the person's feelings (even if you feel that they are being unreasonable) - you can do this without making a comment on the complaint itself or making any admission of fault on behalf of the organisation  e.g. "I understand that this situation is frustrating for you"
• If you feel that an apology is deserved for something that was the responsibility of your organisation, then apologise
• Ask the person what they would like done to resolve the issue
• Be clear about what you can do, how long it will take and what it will involve.
• Don’t promise things you can’t deliver
• Give clear and valid reasons why requests cannot be met
• Make sure that the person understands what they have been told
• Wherever appropriate, inform the person about the available avenues of review
Or appeal