Complaints, Concerns and Compliments Policy

To ensure concerns are welcomed, resolved promptly and used to improve the service, with no detriment to the person raising them.

All feedback from people using the service, families, staff, visitors and professionals.

Acknowledgement within three working days, full written response within 20 working days, with interim updates if longer.

Complainants are told how to escalate to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or the relevant commissioner.

Every complaint is themed and reported to the monthly governance review; outcomes are shared with the team and, where appropriate, with all families.

All staff receive induction training on this policy before working unsupervised, refreshed at least annually or sooner following incident learning or a change in guidance.

Competency is confirmed through observation of practice, supervision discussion and reflective questioning — not attendance records alone.

Training records are maintained centrally and gaps are reviewed monthly against the training matrix.

The registered manager holds overall accountability for this policy. Day-to-day implementation is delegated to named leads recorded in the service's accountability matrix.

Compliance is monitored through the service audit calendar, with findings reported to the monthly governance review and escalated to the provider board where risk is rated high.

Every audit finding is converted into an entry on the improvement action tracker with a named owner, priority rating, target date and evidence of completion.

Learning is shared with the whole team through team meetings, supervision and reflective practice sessions. Where a theme recurs, the policy itself is reviewed rather than the individual blamed.

• Complaints log
• Response letters
• Theme analysis and resulting actions

Suggested review cycle: Annually.