CES Medical Ltd prides itself in delivering high quality services to all patients and service users. We recognise, however, that at times things can go wrong and we may not deliver the quality of care or level of service we and our patients expect. When this happens and a complaint is made, this policy will be implemented to ensure service users and those acting on their behalf (who may be affected by the action, omission or decision of the company) are confident that their concerns and complaints are acknowledged, listened to and dealt with effectively, in a timely manner and that a proportionate investigation takes place. The outcome of any investigation, along with any resulting actions will be explained to the complainant by the Company.
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Service users can be reassured that the complaint will not affect their ongoing treatment - no complaint correspondence will be filed in their medical records - they will be treated fairly, and that their complaint will be managed in the strictest confidence. We would expect our service users to receive the standard of care we would like ourselves and our family members to receive. Registered staff also have a professional obligation to respond to complaints, as outlined by the General Medicine Council (GMC)
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There are very clear requirements surrounding the management of complaints which are monitored through the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This policy sets out how we handle complaints and the standards we will follow. It follows the relevant requirements as given in the Local Authority, Social Services and National Health Service Complaint Regulations 2009 and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (the 2009 and 2014 Regulations).The intention of this regulation is to ensure that anyone can make a complaint about any aspect of care and treatment provided, and to ensure that providers investigate complaints and take appropriate and timely action to rectify any failures identified by the complaint or investigation.
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We are committed to continually evaluating and improving services by acting on service users’ feedback, including formal complaints, informal concerns, and Healthcare Professional Feedback (HCP). The Patient Experience Policy recognises the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) Principles of Good Complaint Handling 2009 and upholds the values of their “my expectations” framework developed by the PHSO, Local Government Ombudsman and Healthwatch. It promotes the NHS constitution. It also supports the HCPC, NMC/Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and GMC codes of conduct when staff are managing a concern or complaint.
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We will operate openly and honestly in line with the Duty of Candour Policy and welcome feedback from patients and the public about the services we provide. We take a positive approach to complaints, blame culture is not conducive to learning from complaints and patient feedback. Staff are supported and given every opportunity to respond to the issue being raised and are offered guidance and support with Patient Experience investigations.
For staff wishing to raise concerns please refer to the Whistleblowing Policy.

The key issues taken into consideration when formulating this policy are that a complainant should:

• Know how to complain.
• Feel confident that their complaint will be dealt with seriously.
• Know the period in which the complaint response is likely to be sent and to be kept informed of progress and any delays.
• Understand that their concerns will be investigated, and they will be informed of the findings of that investigation.
• Trust that CES Medical Ltd will learn from feedback, concerns, complaints and compliments, and apply those lessons whilst also learning from and sharing best practice.