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Complaint Handling Policy

All staff must be aware the Lyfe Health welcomes feedback from our Clients about their experiences. Should we on occasion not meet their expectations, then it is important that we record these concerns, deal with them, and take steps to improve our service because of Client’s comments. Complaints can be made by Clients verbally, electronically or in writing. It is very important that we adopt a strong culture of listening to our Clients and if they express concerns then we take steps to try and resolve the situation locally, as soon as possible, to try to ensure situations do not escalate into unnecessary complaints. It is important that Clients are not discriminated against in any way, because of making a complaint.

 Overview

  • All complaints must be dealt with in a timely manner, Clients must not be passed around, the complaint must be acknowledged, reviewed, and resolved as quickly as possible.
  • If you receive a complaint on behalf of a Client e.g., husband, wife, carer, member of parliament etc. it is important that you make the third party aware we require written consent from the Client, unless they can supply documentation to confirm they have power of attorney for the Clients’ health and wellbeing.
  • It can sometimes be difficult to identify complaints from a concern. We must adopt a strong proactive culture of trying to resolve complaints and concerns, locally, if possible, at an early stage at clinic level before they become formal complaints.
  • We should ensure we resolve locally received verbal and written complaints within 24 hours. The policy set out will be followed whenever dissatisfaction is clearly expressed.
  • Following a complaint, the clinic/staff involved must be made aware of the complaint and receive feedback. If required changes must be made where appropriate to improve services and the Client experience, this must be a continuous cycle of improvement.
  • Each clinic has a local complaint log. This complaint log must be kept up to date and any actions taken because of a complaint must be recorded on the log. There is a head office complaints log for any complaints which are handled centrally.
  • There must be information available within the clinic and on the website so Clients, should they wish, know how to make a complaint, this must also confirm information such as timescales etc.

Complaint Process

  1. When a complaint is received it is important staff try to resolve the issues immediately if possible, or within 24 hours, at clinic level, with the help and support of the lead receptionist or lead practitioner.
  2. Always apologise to the Client and clearly explain our complaints process to them.
  3. The complaint must be brought to the attention of the most senior member of staff on duty at the time, who will need to discuss the complaint with the Client and try to resolve the situation.
  4. If the complaint can be resolved within 5 days at a local level, then there is no need to log this as a formal complaint.
  5. Local complaints must be recorded on the local complaint log and reviewed at the regular clinic meetings and actions taken must be recorded on the log. These local logs will also be reviewed monthly by the senior management team.

Procedure for passing a complaint to Head Office.

  1.  If a complaint cannot be resolved locally within 5 days hours or if a complaint is of a serious nature from the start, then the following steps must be taken. If it was received as a verbal complaint a full statement outlining the complaint must be recorded by the member of staff corresponding with the Client (Please do not ask the Client to put their complaint in writing, you need to make the notes). Once notes have been taken by the team member, they must be read back to the Client to ensure you have fully understood the situation.
  2. Then the written statement outlining the complaint, or a copy of the Clients written complaint must be emailed to [email protected] titled – Urgent Client complaint.
  3. Then telephone Operations director to make them aware a complaint has been emailed. If there is no answer, then please send a text. The Operations Director will always acknowledge they have received the complaint within 24 hours. If you have not had confirmation within 24 hours, then please try telephoning the Operations Director again.
  4. Once the Operations Director receives the complaint, it will be recorded on the central complaint log and they Operations Director will also contact the clinic to confirm they are in receipt of the complaint.
  5. The Operations Director will assess the seriousness of the complaint and where appropriate contact the clinic/staff involved to gather initial feedback and information.
  6. Within 4 hours of passing a complaint to head office the local clinic must send an email to the Client to confirm the complaint has been passed to head office and a member of the senior management team will be in contact with them within 48 hours, at the latest, to discuss their complaint. Please copy the Operations Director in on this email.
  7. Depending on the initial seriousness of the complaint the Operations Director may either discuss or pass the complaint to the appropriate clinical lead/s, Chef Clinical Officer etc.
  8. Within 48 hours of receiving the complaint, at the latest a team member will contact the Client to discuss the complaint, a preferred outcome and how realistic it is. If no further investigation of the complaint is necessary and an outcome can be agreed with the Client which they feel resolves the complaint satisfactorily, then this can be agreed verbally with the Client and the complaint can be closed.
  9. Following the discussion written confirmation must be sent to the Client within 3 days to confirm the complaint has been satisfactorily resolved.
  10. The central complaint log needs updating accordingly, and the clinic needs confirmation of the complaint being resolved. All complaints must then be reviewed at the weekly operations meeting and appropriate actions taken.
  11. If the complaint is not resolved at this stage and further investigations are needed, then it is important that you agree a timescale of when we will come back to the Client and how we will communicate with them moving forward.
  12. A full investigation of the complaint must then be conducted within the agreed timescale.
  13. Reply to the Client as agreed and if necessary, offer a meeting if appropriate.
  14. Ensure the Client is satisfied with the outcome. If we are unable to reach a satisfactory outcome with the Client following the investigation and discussions, then we must make the Client aware, they are able to take the matter to our governing bodies.
  15. Once a formal complaint has been resolved confirmation in writing must be sent to the Client within 3 days to confirm the complaint has been resolved. The central complaint log must be updated, and the complaint must be reviewed, and appropriate action taken at the weekly operations meeting.

Who can complain?

Complaints must be made within 12 months at the latest, but ideally as soon as possible following treatment. Complaints may be made by:

  • Clients
  • Third parties if they have written consent from the Client to act on their behalf.
  • Someone acting on behalf of a Client who is unable to represent his or her own interests, provided this does not conflict with the Clients right to confidentiality or a previously expressed wish of the Client.
  • If the complaint is made on behalf of a child, we must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for the complaint being made by the complainant rather than the child and that it is in the best interests of the child. If we are not satisfied this is the case, written notification of the decision must be sent to the complainant.

Anonymous Complaints

 Anonymous complaints received via The Lyfe Health Client complaint process will be investigated in the same way as a named complaint and logged accordingly, if there is enough detail given in the anonymous complaint for it to be investigated appropriately.

Complaint log

The complaint log will record:

  • Date complaint was made.
  • Client ID number
  • Summary of the complaint
  • Outcome/date
  • Summary of actions taken because of the complaint/dates
  • Logs of calls/contact with Client/dates

In addition, in the complaint file copies of any minutes taken, if any meetings are held whilst investigating a complaint.

Following a complaint

  • All complaints will be recorded either on the local clinic log or the head office log. Following a complaint, it is very important that we address any issues.
  • It is important as part of the investigation and review of a complaint we identify what led to the complaint, what if any, steps could be taken to ensure this situation does not occur again in the future, as part of the improvement cycle.
  • Identify any training needs.
  • Identify any trends in complaints and act accordingly to improve the service.
  • Update and review processes and policies accordingly and communicate to all.
  • Share learning experiences from complaints with all clinics
  • Celebrate successful outcomes and share ideas and improvements.
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