There will be times when clients, their families or carers, staff members and others are dissatisfied with aspects of the care and services provided. Companies must be committed to dealing with any issues that may arise as quickly and effectively as possible.

The potential effects on clients, relatives and staff members when things go wrong, can be devastating. Duty of candour, implemented under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Regulation 20, outlines the principles that staff members should use when communicating with clients, relatives and/or carers following an incident where harm has occurred, or where there is a risk or possibility that the incident could lead to or result in harm. It underpins a culture of openness, honesty and transparency, and is a duty on the organisation as a whole, as well as individual staff members working within the organisation.

By making sure that concerns and complaints are dealt with in a timely manner the risk of escalation is minimised and the opportunity of finding a satisfactory resolution to the problem is maximised.

At the same time, compliments are an important means of identifying areas of good practice, and companies should seek to ensure that feedback on good practice is shared with employees to motivate and encourage staff members and ensure standards of care are improved wherever possible.

This customisable policy includes:

• The Policy Statement
• The Scope of the Policy
• How to Submit Feedback
• Compliments Management Process
• Concerns Management Process
• Complaints Management Service
• Internal Appeal
• Independent Review
• Monitoring and Learning from Mistakes
• Unreasonable Complainant Behaviour
• Support for Persons involved in a Complaint
• Records Management
• Monitoring Information
• Related Policies Information
• Legislation and Guidance
• Summary of Review