Version: V8
Ratified by: Quality and Safety Committee
Date ratified: 13/09/2022
Job Title of author: Customer Service Coordinator
Reviewed by Committee or Expert Group Customer Engagement Group
Equality Impact Assessed by:
Customer Service Coordinator
Related procedural documents [show all related document]
Review date: September 2025
It is the responsibility of users to ensure that you are using the most up to date document template – i.e., obtained via the intranet
In developing/reviewing this policy Provide Community has had regard to the principles of the NHS Constitution
Version Control Sheet
Version Date
V1
V2
V2.1
V3
V4
V5
V6
V7
V8
Author Status Comment
January 2011 Customer Service Coordinator Approved New
July 2011 Head of Quality & Safety Approved Claims separated out from policy
March 2013 Head of Quality & Safety Review date remains at July 2013 Reviewed for spelling and grammar as a result of a complaint
July 2013 Customer Service Coordinator Awaiting approval To be ratified at Integrated Governance Committee – August 22 2013
January 2014 Customer Service Coordinator Approved Ratified at Quality and Safety Committee 20 March 2014
July 2016 Customer Service Coordinator Approved Ratified at Quality and Safety Committee 21 July 201
July 2018 Customer Service Coordinator Approved
September 2018 Customer Service Coordinator Approved Minor amendment in line with the Auditors recommendation an insert has been made in relation to verbal complaints
September 2022 Customer Service Coordinator Approved Updated to CORE Group company document
1. Introduction
The Provide Group is committed to learning about service areas where improvements can be made or where changes are required, and views the feedback from complaints as a key source of the information required to enable this process. The Provide Group believes in the fair and efficient management of complaints and openly invites these being raised by service users and stakeholders.
2. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to set out the requirements to enable complaints about services delivered by the Provide Group to be managed in a timely and efficient manner, within the overarching principles of the Provide Group complaint management process.
3. Scope
The Provide Group delivers a broad range of health and social care services in the community.
This policy will apply to all Provide Group companies in applying the overarching principles of complaints management as set out within this policy.
The subsidiary companies delivering services under the umbrella of the Provide Group will ensure they have a robust Complaints Standard Operating Procedure (CSOP) and/or guidelines that outline local process aligned to these overarching principles.
In the event that a complaint is received that does not relate to a Provide Group service, every effort will be made to ensure that the complaint is forwarded to the correct organisation. The complainant will be informed of this and forwarding contact details provided.
This policy will be made available to staff, volunteers and contractors via the Organisations procedural document portal and the public via the public website –www.provide.org.uk
4. Duties
Staff, contractors or volunteers engaged as part of a Provide Group company are expected to take any complaint raised seriously, act with compassion and ensure that any service user, relative or carer of a service user who makes a complaint is treated with respect and without bias
Any member of staff, volunteer or contractor should attempt to resolve a verbal complaint at the point of contact if possible and be able to support the complainant to
take the complaint to the relevant complaint management team within their service if the complaint cannot be easily resolved
5. Monitoring and consultation
The Provide Group Quality and Safety Team are responsible for the monitoring of this policy ensuing that any review, revisions or amendments are ratified by the Provide Customer Engagement Group, and appropriate Committees for final ratification and dissemination to the services within the Provide Group companies
Consideration should be made by the Customer Engagement Group around consultation with service users and/or regulatory bodies in the review of this policy to ensure it reflects feedback on complaints processes.
Complaint themes and trends and any areas for escalation will be via a quarterly report, to the Quality & Safety Provide Leadership Team (QPLT) meeting and will act as the assurance for the Quality and Safety Committee, this will also form part of the assurance for the Provide Board.
Managers of services within Provide Group companies should also include complaints data as part of the quality assurance reporting process to their specified Board, and these should be shared with the Provide Group Quality and Safety Committee for oversight.
6. Who Can Make a Complaint
Anyone who has been affected or is likely to be affected by actions or decisions in relation to services delivered by the Provide Group can raise a complaint. A service user must give their consent for someone to act on their behalf.
A complaint may be made by a person acting on behalf of another person who has:
• Requested a representative to act on their behalf
• Delegated authority to do so, for example in the form of Power of Attorney
• Died
• Is a child
• Is unable to make the complaint themselves because of: Physical incapacity or Lack of capacity within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
7. Safeguarding Concerns
There may be circumstances in which information disclosed as part of the complaint may need to be shared in the best interest of the person, or the protection, safety or wellbeing of a child or adult at risk
Safeguarding issues identified from a complaint must be reported and escalated by the member of staff or persons/team receiving the complaint following their local safeguarding processes The relevant complaint management team within their
service should also be made aware of the safeguarding issues to ensure guidance is adhered to and that appropriate actions and escalations occur
8. How to Make a Complaint
The Provide Group is committed to ensuring easy access to information of how to raise a complaint Compliments, Comments and Complaint leaflets will be made available at locations where Provide Group services are delivered. Provide CIC services can access the leaflet via the Provide website. Provide Group subsidiary companies will have local arrangements in place for access to their applicable leaflets and information on how to make a complaint.
The Compliments, Comments and Complaint leaflet will provide guidance of how to make a complaint, the process that will be undertaken, access to Advocacy services and how to contact the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (for healthrelated services) or Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (for social care services) should the complainant not be satisfied that we have acted reasonably in the management of said complaint.
On request, the leaflet can be provided in a number of languages, large print and Braille.
The services within the Provide Group can receive a complaint in the following ways:
• Verbally
• By telephone
• By letter
• By email
• Via Group Company Social Media
A complaint received via the Provide Group Social Media will be acknowledged by the relevant communications team. The complainantwill then be directed to the complaints team within their company.
9. Complaint Management
The Provide Customer Service Team has overall responsibility for monitoring the complaint procedure. The process, however will be managed in accordance with the Complaint SOP/Guidance of the service/group company involved in the complaint (with reference to this policy’s overarching principles).
Any complaint received within the Provide Group must be acknowledged in line with the overarching principles of complaints management as set out within this policy. The details of the complaint should then be forwarded to the Provide Customer Service Team for logging onto the relevant module of the Datix system
Any complaint received by the Provide Customer Service team, will be acknowledged, and consent obtained for information to be shared with the relevant complaint management team within the Provide Group.
The Provide Customer Service Team will monitor the progress of the management of the complaint and review the final response prior to it being sent.
Acknowledgement of Complaint
• A complaint should be acknowledged within 3 working days with consent requested to share information relevant to the complaint process
• The acknowledgement should include information of how to access advocacy support and how the complaint may be taken forward to the Parliamentary Health Services Ombudsman/Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman should the complainant not be satisfied with our management of their complaint
• When consent to share has been confirmed the details of the complaint can be sent to the nominated person within the service involved in the complaint for the review of the episode of care to commence
On completion of the investigation, the complaint response:
• Will include an apology for the dissatisfaction felt about the service received
• Will include a clear statement of the issues, investigations, and the findings, giving clear evidence-based reasons for decisions as appropriate
• Be open, honest, and accountable. Where errors have occurred, these will be fully explained with a statement of what will be done to put these right and /or prevent repetition
• Will focus on fair and proportionate outcomes for the patient, including any remedial action or compensation
• Will be clear that the response is the final one, or, if relevant, that further action will be taken, or that reports are to follow
• Will offer the complainant the opportunity to meet with a member of the service to discuss the content of the response should the complainant wish to do so
• Will include a statement of the right to escalate the complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman/Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, together with the relevant contact information
• Will be sent to the Provide Customer Team for review before being sent
10.Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman/Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
There may be occasions when the complainant does not accept the findings of the complaint investigation and a complainant has the right to contact the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman or Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
On receipt of contact from the relevant Ombudsman, the service will advise the Provide Customer Service Team This team will facilitate the collection of all information requested by the Ombudsman and ensure it is provided in a timely manner.
11. Advocacy Service
Organisations have a statutory duty to commission independent advocacy services to provide support in order for people to make a complaint about their care or treatment.
Advocacy services are independent of health and social care providers and help people, especially the vulnerable to understand their rights, express their views and wishes and ensure their voice is heard.
Information around local advocacy services should be provided upon acknowledgement of a complaint. Details of local advocacy services should be reflected within the Provide Group company local Complaint SOP/Guidelines.
12.Persistent and/or Vexatious Complainants
Where a complainant becomes aggressive or, despite effective complaint handling, unreasonable in their promotion of the complaint, some or all of the following formal provisions will apply and will be communicated to the complainant by the complaint handler:
• The complaint will be managed by one named individual at senior level who will be the only contact for the complainant
• Contact will be limited to one method only (e.g. in writing)
• A time limit will be placed on each contact
• The number of contacts within a time period will be restricted
• A witness will be present for all contacts
• Repeated complaints about the same issue will be refused
• Correspondence regarding a closed matter will only be acknowledged and not responded to
• Behaviour standards will be set
• Irrelevant documentation will be returned
13.Recommendations further to Management of a Complaint
The Provide Customer Engagement Group will review managed complaints to ensure that processes in place are robust, actions have been identified, implemented and evaluated, and that learning has been shared appropriately.
The Provide Customer Service Team will work with Provide Group companies to ensure that overarching principles as outlined in the policy are adhered to and that the complainant receives a full and informed response.
An annual audit of Provide Group company complaint management will be undertaken to ensure that the overarching principles as set out in this policy have been applied.
14. Complaints about more than one provider
When an organisation receives a complaint, which contains issues about more than one provider or organisation a discussion with the complainant about who is best placed to co-ordinate the investigation and provide the response will take place. Where
it is agreed that a Provide Group company will co-ordinate and respond on behalf of the providers/organisations, consent will be obtained to share the complaint as appropriate.
Where a Provide Group company is not the lead for the management of the complaint, it will fully co-operate with the organisation that has been identified as the lead and liaise with that organisation to ensure appropriate consent has been agreed and is in place
15. Compliments
The Provide Group values the feedback it receives from its service users
Compliments that come direct to the Provide Customer Service Team will be logged and then forwarded to the relevant service/group for dissemination to the team.
Compliment information forms part of the Customer Engagement Report that is noted at the Quality & Safety Committee meeting and used to inform the Provide Group companies of positive feedback about services, staff and care delivery. All Provide Group companies should have processes in place to collate and record compliments.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE: Stage 1: ‘Screening’
Name of project/policy/strategy (hereafter referred to as “initiative”):
Provide Group Complaints and Compliments Policy
Provide a brief summary (bullet points) of the aims of the initiative and main activities:
Project/Policy Manager: Customer Services Lead Date: May 2022
This stage establishes whether a proposed initiative will have an impact from an equality perspective on any particular group of people or community – i.e. on the grounds of race (incl. religion/faith), gender (incl. sexual orientation), age, disability, or whether it is “equality neutral” (i.e. have no effect either positive or negative). In the case of gender, consider whether men and women are affected differently.
Q1. Who will benefit from this initiative? Is there likely to be a positive impact on specific groups/communities (whether or not they are the intended beneficiaries), and if so, how? Or is it clear at this stage that it will be equality “neutral”? i.e. will have no particular effect on any group.
This policy is equality neutral
Q2. Is there likely to be an adverse impact on one or more minority/under-represented or community groups as a result of this initiative? If so, who may be affected and why? Or is it clear at this stage that it will be equality “neutral”?
Minority Ethnic Groups may be less likely to make a complaint based on a language barrier. It is therefore vital that service user/customers have access to interpreters and translators as part of the complaints process and that information on how to make a complaint be available on request in different languages.
Q3. Is the impact of the initiative – whether positive or negative - significant enough to warrant a more detailed assessment (Stage 2 – see guidance)? If not, will there be monitoring and review to assess the impact over a period time? Briefly (bullet points) give reasons for your answer and any steps you are taking to address particular issues, including any consultation with staff or external groups/agencies.
Not significant enough to warrant a more detailed assessment. An annual audit will be undertaken to ensure that the overarching principles as set out in this policy have been applied.
Guidelines: Things to consider
Equality impact assessments at Provide take account of relevant equality legislation and include age, (i.e. young and old,); race and ethnicity, gender, disability, religion and faith, and sexual orientation. The initiative may have a positive, negative or neutral impact, i.e. have no particular effect on the group/community. Where a negative (i.e. adverse) impact is identified, it may be appropriate to make a more detailed EIA (see Stage 2), or, as important, take early action to redress this – e.g. by abandoning or modifying the initiative. NB: If the initiative contravenes equality legislation, it must be abandoned or modified.
Where an initiative has a positive impact on groups/community relations, the EIA should make this explicit, to enable the outcomes to be monitored over its lifespan.
Where there is a positive impact on particular groups does this mean there could be an adverse impact on others, and if so can this be justified? - e.g. are there other existing or planned initiatives which redress this?
It may not be possible to provide detailed answers to some of these questions at the start of the initiative. The EIA may identify a lack of relevant data, and that data-gathering is a specific action required to inform the initiative as it develops, and also to form part of a continuing evaluation and review process.
It is envisaged that it will be relatively rare for full impact assessments to be carried out at Provide. Usually, where there are particular problems identified in the screening stage, it is envisaged that the approach will be amended at this stage, and/or setting up a monitoring/evaluation system to review a policy’s impact over time.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE: Stage 2:
(To be used where the ‘screening phase has identified a substantial problem/concern)
This stage examines the initiative in more detail in order to obtain further information where required about its potential adverse or positive impact from an equality perspective. It will help inform whether any action needs to be taken and may form part of a continuing assessment framework as the initiative develops.
Q1. What data/information is there on the target beneficiary groups/communities? Are any of these groups under- or over-represented? Do they have access to the same resources? What are your sources of data and are there any gaps?
Q2. Is there a potential for this initiative to have a positive impact, such as tackling discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and good community relations? If yes, how? Which are the main groups it will have an impact on?
Q3. Will the initiative have an adverse impact on any particular group or community/community relations? If yes, in what way? Will the impact be different for different groups – e.g. men and women?
Q4. Has there been consultation/is consultation planned with stakeholders/ beneficiaries/ staff who will be affected by the initiative? Summarise (bullet points) any important issues arising from the consultation.
Q5. Given your answers to the previous questions, how will your plans be revised to reduce/eliminate negative impact or enhance positive impact? Are there specific factors which need to be taken into account?
Q6. How will the initiative continue to be monitored and evaluated, including its impact on particular groups/ improving community relations? Where appropriate, identify any additional data that will be required.
Guidelines: Things to consider
An initiative may have a positive impact on some sectors of the community but leave others excluded or feeling they are excluded. Consideration should be given to how this can be tackled or minimised. It is important to ensure that relevant groups/communities are identified who should be consulted. This may require taking positive action to engage with those groups who are traditionally less likely to respond to consultations, and could form a specific part of the initiative. The consultation process should form a meaningful part of the initiative as it develops, and help inform any future action. If the EIA shows an adverse impact, is this because it contravenes any equality legislation? If so, the initiative must be modified or abandoned. There may be another way to meet the objective(s) of the initiative.
Further information:
Useful Websites www.equalityhumanrights.com Website for new Equality agency www.employers-forum.co.uk – Employers forum on disability www.disabilitynow.org.uk – online disability related newspaper www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk – Gender issues in more depth www.opportunitynow.org.uk - Employer member organisation (gender) www.efa.org.uk – Employers forum on age www.agepositive.gov.uk – Age issues in more depth
© MDA 2007 EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE: Stage One: ‘Screening’