Building Better Futures

1.  Introduction

We always aim to provide a high standard of care in all our services.

Our Service Users’ views are important to us and help to ensure our services are consistently meeting people’s needs. If you are unhappy with any of our services, it is important that you let us know.

If a complaint alerts us to possible abuse or neglect, we will tell the Local Authority’s Adult Safeguarding Team. The Safeguarding Team will decide how to investigate and monitor outcomes.

2.  Making a Suggestion

Often people feel more comfortable suggesting improvements than complaining formally. Suggestions can be made by anyone receiving services, or their friends/family. To make a suggestion you can:

• Speak to the Manager or their Deputy
• Utilise available comments or suggestion boxes if you would rather make your suggestion that way
• If the suggestion is something that COOCI Associates LLP as a company needs to consider you can send it to:

Registered Manager

COOCI Associates LLP

First Floor, Unit 7

Bell Buisness Park

Smeaton Close

Aylesbury

Bucks

HP19 8JR

UK

01844 221200

i.  Making a Complaint

We aim to handle complaints quickly, effectively and in a fair and honest way. We take all complaints seriously and use valuable information from investigating to help us improve the service we provide. We treat all complaints in confidence.

COOCI Associates LLP assures Service Users and their families that it will not withdraw or reduce services because someone makes a complaint in good faith.

ii.  Who Can Complain

Anyone affected by the way COOCI Associates LLP provides services can make a complaint.

A representative can make a complaint for the affected person if they:

• Have died
• Cannot make a complaint themselves, or
• Have given consent for the representative to act on their behalf

If you are not happy about making a complaint yourself and you do not know someone who can talk or write to us on your behalf, we will be happy to find someone from an independent organisation to act as an advocate for you.

iii.  How You Can Make a Complaint

• You can complain:
• In person
• By telephone In writing
• Through a member of our staff Through an advocate or representative

Where someone complains verbally, we will make a written record and provide a copy of it within 3 working days

• By letter
• By email

iv.  Anonymous Complaints

We deal with anonymous complaints under the same procedure. However, it should be noted that if you provide contact details, we can update you on the outcome of our investigation.

v.  Responsibility

The Registered Manager has overall responsibility for dealing with all complaints made about their service.

We will provide, as far as is reasonably practical, support for Service Users, friends and family who wish to make a complaint but understand that they may wish to contact COOCI Associates LLP or Care Quality Commission directly.

This includes:

• Providing any help needed to understand the complaints procedure
• Providing advice on where you may get that help
• Providing advice and information in an accessible format about making a complaint in a way you can understand

If the complaint relates to the conduct of Mrs Hayley Durbin, you may feel more comfortable to direct your complaint to Mrs Nicola Ounsworth or COOCI Associates LLP.

There may be times where the registered manager and nominated individual are the same person. In order to conduct an investigation impartially, COOCI Associates LLP may enlist an external professional such as a health and social care consultant or alternative domiciliary care provider who is registered with CQC to complete this process on our behalf.

vi.  How We Handle Complaints

The Registered Manager or COOCI Associates LLP may ask one of the management team to investigate the complaint. That person will have enough seniority and experience to deal with the issues raised by the complaint.

We will formally acknowledge a complaint within 3 working days and give you the name and contact details of the person investigating it.

We will keep you informed about the progress of the investigation. We aim to have all complaints finished within 28 working days unless we agree a different time scale with you.

When we have finished investigating, we will arrange to meet with you to discuss the outcome, and write to you with:

• Details of the findings
• Any action we have taken
• Our proposals to resolve your complaint

vii.  Time Limits

You should complain as soon as you can after the date on which the event occurred or came to your notice. If you complain more than twelve months later, we may not be able to investigate properly. However, we will consider whether you had a good reason for not making the complaint sooner and whether, despite the delay, it is still possible to investigate the complaint effectively and fairly.

viii.  Further Steps

1. At any stage during the process, if you are not happy with the way COOCI Associates LLP is dealing with your complaint you can contact Mrs Nicola Ounsworth at:

COOCI Associates LLP

First Floor, Unit 7

Bell Buisness Park

Smeaton Close

Aylesbury

Bucks

HP19 8JR

UK

01844 221200

You can also contact your Local Authority Complaints Team to complain. You can contact the Local Authority Complaints Team at:

Local Authority Complaints Team

2. Once we have dealt with your complaint, if you are not happy with the outcome you can refer your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and ask for it to be reviewed. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman provides a free independent service.

You can contact them at:

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

PO Box 4771

Coventry CV4 0EH

Tel: 0300 061 0614

Email: advice@lgo.org.uk

Website: https://www.lgo.org.uk/

Complaint form: https://www.lgo.org.uk/complaint-form

NB: The Ombudsman will not normally investigate a complaint until the provider has had an opportunity to respond and resolve matters.

 

3. The services of COOCI Associates LLP are registered with, and regulated by, the Care Quality The CQC cannot get involved in individual complaints about providers but is happy to receive information about services at any time.

You can contact the CQC at:

Care Quality Commission National Correspondence

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

National Correspondence

Citygate, Gallowgate

Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4PA

Tel: 03000 616161

Fax: 03000 616171

Website: www.cqc.org.uk

*We can provide this policy in other languages or in other formats on request