If the investigation stage follows attempted early resolution, you must ensure you have all case notes and associated information considered at the early resolution stage. You must also record that this information has been obtained. Contact with the person making the complaint at the start of the investigation To effectively investigate a complaint, it is often necessary to have a discussion with the person making the complaint to be clear about exactly what the complaint or complaints relate to, understand what outcome the person making the complaint is looking for by complaining, and assess if these expectations are realistic and achievable. This may be by a telephone discussion or it may be appropriate to arrange a meeting between appropriate NHS staff and the person making the complaint. This will provide the opportunity to explain how the investigation will be conducted, and to manage the person’s expectations in regard to the outcomes they are looking for. Timelines The following deadlines are set out in the Regulations for cases at the investigation stage: complaints must be acknowledged within three working days; and you should provide a full response to the complaint as soon as possible but not later than 20 working days, unless an extension is required. Acknowledgements The Complaints Directions set out what must be included in a written acknowledgement of a complaint, which is as follows: contact details of the feedback and complaints officer; details of the advice and support available including the PASS; information on the role and contact details for the SPSO; a statement confirming that the complaint will normally be investigated, and the report of the investigation sent to the complainant, within 20 working days or as soon as reasonably practicable; and a statement advising that, should it not be possible to send a report within 20 working days, the person making the complaint will be provided with an explanation as to why is a delay and, where possible, provided with a revised timetable for the investigation. When advising the person making the complaint about the role and contact details of the SPSO, it should also be explained that if they remain dissatisfied at the end of the complaints process, they can ask the SPSO to look at their complaint, and that further information about this will be provided with the final decision on the complaint.
organisational learning from the operation of the feedback and complaints process is captured and reported. determine whether a complaint is one which should not be investigated under the procedure because of the likelihood that legal action will be raised in respect of the same issue. provide specialist advice and support to patients and staff and others on the management of this process, including delivery of local training and awareness raising; have access to advice and support on associated issues, for example patient consent, confidentiality, the operation of related legislation such as the Data Protection Act, access to medical records, Freedom of Information, etc; and have an understanding of partner organisations and how to work with them on managing feedback, comments, concerns and complaints. All staff in the organisation A complaint may be made to any member of staff in the organisation. So all staff must be aware of the complaints handling procedure and how to handle and record complaints at the early resolution stage. They should also be aware of who to refer a complaint to, in case they are not able to personally handle the matter. We encourage all staff to try to resolve complaints early, as close to the point of service delivery as possible. The SPSO liaison officer Our SPSO liaison officer's role may include providing complaints information in an orderly, structured way within requested timescales, providing comments on factual accuracy on our behalf in response to SPSO reports, and confirming and verifying that recommendations have been implemented.] [The organisation may provide further guidance relevant to the roles and responsibilities of staff. Primary care providers should document the roles and responsibilities of staff as they relate to the delivery of NHS services.] Complaints about senior staff Complaints about senior staff can be difficult to handle, as there may be a conflict of interest for the staff investigating the complaint. When serious complaints are raised against senior staff, it is particularly important that the investigation is conducted by an individual who is independent of the situation. We must ensure we have strong governance arrangements in place that set out clear procedures for handling such complaints. [The organisation may provide further guidance or examples in relation to the process for handling complaints about senior staff members. This can be inserted here or can be included in an annex to this document.]
Learning from complaints At the earliest opportunity the closure of the complaint, the complaint handler should always make sure that the person making the complaint and staff of the service involved are given feedback and, where applicable, understand the findings of the investigation and any recommendations made. As a minimum, we must: use complaints data to identify the contributory factors to complaints; take action to reduce the risk of recurrence; record the details of corrective action in the complaints file; and systematically review complaints performance reports to improve service delivery. Where we have identified the need for service improvement: an action plan should be developed where appropriate; the action needed to improve services must be prioritised for implementation; an officer (or team) should be designated the ‘owner’ of the issue, with responsibility for ensuring the action is taken; a target date must be set for the action to be taken; the designated individual must follow up to ensure that the action is taken within the agreed timescale; where appropriate, performance in the service area should be monitored to ensure that the issue has been resolved; and we must ensure that our staff learn from complaints. The General Medical Council’s education standards set out the requirements of NHS bodies and primary care providers, in terms of the organisation and provision of medical education and training. It places a particular emphasis on the need for the learning environment and organisational culture to value and support education and training, so that learners are able to demonstrate the responsibilities, values, behaviours and learning outcomes required. Where appropriate we will ensure appraisers place emphasis on the role of learning from complaints in individual appraisals to identify where we can develop or change our approach to improve patient care. [The organisation may provide further guidance or examples in relation to how other professional bodies for example the GDC set out expectations about education and training. This can be inserted here or be included in an annex to this document.] Publishing complaints performance information Each year we must publish a report setting out our performance in handling complaints, concerns, comments and feedback. This summarises and builds on the quarterly reports we have produced about our own services and received from service providers in our
comment, a complaint, or a concern, the matrix below may help you to arrive at the appropriate decision. Insignificant or None Moderate Significant or Certain Your assessment of the rigour and extent of dissatisfaction expressed Feedback or Comment Concern Concern Complaint The way in which the person raising the issue expresses their level of dissatisfaction Feedback or Comment Concern Complaint Complaint Your assessment of the likely impact on patient care Feedback or Comment Concern or Complaint Complaint Complaint Your assessment of the to the patient, patients or others Feedback or Comment Concern or Complaint Complaint Complaint Your assessment of the risks to the NHS body Feedback or Comment Concern Complaint Complaint The learning opportunities that may arise as a result of looking at the matter raised Feedback or Comment Concern Complaint Complaint It is expected that you will use professional judgement in deciding whether an issue can be looked at as a 'Concern' or whether it is appropriate to handle the matter through the complaints handling procedure. Where an issue is looked at as a ‘Concern’ and the person raising the matter remains dissatisfied with your response, you must then investigate the matter as a complaint, at stage 2 of the complaints handling procedure. Appendix 4: Timelines General References to timelines throughout the complaints handling procedure relate to working days. When measuring performance against the required timelines, we do not count
issued within three working days. Exceptionally you may need longer than the 20-day limit for a full response. If so, you must explain the reasons to the person, and agree with them a revised timescale. Day 1 Day 5 Day 10 Day 15 Day 20+ Day 1: Day complaint received at investigation stage, or next working day if date of receipt is a non-working day. Acknowledgement issued within three working days. By Day 20: In agreement with the person making the complaint where possible, decide a revised timescale for bringing the investigation to a conclusion. By agreed date: Issue our final decision on the complaint. Timeline examples The following illustration provides examples of the point at which we conclude our consideration of a complaint. It is intended to show the different stages and times at which a complaint may be resolved. Day 1 Day 3 Day 8 Day 20+ Complaint 1 Complaint 2 Complaint 3 Complaint 4 Complaint 5 Complaint 6 The circumstances of each complaint are explained below: Complaint 1 Complaint 1 is a straightforward issue that may be resolved by an on-the-spot explanation and, where appropriate, an apology. Such a complaint can be resolved on day one.