How to make a complaint

In the UK, any patient seeking treatment for a drug or alcohol problem is entitled to make a compliant if he / she is dissatisfied with any aspect of the service.

Below is a summary of NTA's policy and guidelines regarding complaints for the benefit of Farsi problematic users seeking treatment under Government funded services.

This information has been summarised by and for FARS Services.

Please note that this information serves as a guideline for drug services. It is not intended to be legal advice.

• What is a complaint?
• Complaints policies
• Accessibility and confidentiality
• Time limits
• Complaints about NHS drug services

What is a complaint?

According to an NHS definition, a complaint is “an expression of dissatisfaction that requires a response”. Complaints can be verbal or written and may come from following people:

• Clients
• Former clients or visitors
• Someone acting on behalf of an existing or former client, with their consent
• Any appropriate person related to a client who has died (e.g. next of kin or their agent)
• Contractors
• Partnership organizations

Complaints policies

The NTA believes that clients and carers should be involved in policymaking, the delivery and monitoring of all drug services.

By collecting regular feedback about the standard and quality of care provided, treatment services can identify problems early on and help to prevent complaints.

Feedback can be presented via: newsletters, meetings, away-days or notice boards.

A complaints policy demonstrates that complaints, comments or suggestions by clients are used as a positive tool to improve the delivery of the service.

These are important elements of complaint policies:

• Clients should have easy access to the procedure and policy for making complaints.
• A complaint against staff is not the same as other staff disciplinary procedures.
• Complaints and suggestions should be used by service providers to improve delivery of their service.
• The process of making a complaint should be flexible, rapid and open.
• The aim of making a complaint should be to resolve the problem(s) and satisfy the concerns of the clients.
• There should be a set procedure, with timescales, that individuals and organizations should follow once they have received a complaint from a client.
• Clients or carers should not be victimized after making a complaint.
• All complaints should be taken seriously.

Accessibility and confidentiality

Organizations should make their complaints policies and guidelines leaflets available to their clients in different languages. Complaints guidelines should state:

• Who the client needs to speak to when wanting to make a complaint.
• Who can help with the process of making a complaint.
• What happens after the initial step in making a complaint.
• Who will contact the person making a complaint.
• How long the complaint will take.
• Possible procedure and outcome after a compliant has been made.

The person who complains should know that:

• Only information relevant to the complaint will be shared with other parties.
• Relevant information will be shared with people who have a demonstrable need to know.

Complaints made on behalf of a client should be made with the client's consent, unless the client is:

• A child or young person (the complainant should be the child or young person's parent or carer).
• Incapacitated or has died (the complainant should generally be the person's next of kin or carer).

Time limits

According to the NHS Complaints leaflet, a complaint should be made as soon as possible or within six months of the incident or the date the problem was discovered, as long as this is not more than 12 months after the incident itself.

Complaints about NHS drug services

All independent drug service providing services for NHS or PCTs (Primary Care Trusts) have procedures for handling complaints based on the NHS (Complaints) Regulation 2004.

The procedure for a complaint is as follows:

Stage one:

• A person may complain orally or in writing to the complaints manager or any other member of the service. If possible, the complaint should be dealt with as quickly and as sensitively as possible.

Stage two:

• The complaint will be referred to the complaints manager for advice or handling if it can't be handled at an informal level.
• It will be acknowledged within two working days.
• All complaints receive a full response, an apology or explanation to satisfy the person who complained.
• If a client is dissatisfied with this response, they will be informed of the next stage in the complaints procedure.
• Drug services must respond to a complaint within ten working days.

Stage three:

• A client dissatisfied with the local NHS resolution process can make a request to a convener to set up an independent review panel within four weeks of the completion of the local process.
• The convener is a specially trained non-executive director of the trust or primary care trust against which the complaint has been made.
• The convener will inform the complainant and the appropriate member of staff whether an independent review has been set up and why.
• It will report to the complainant, the service and the primary care trust and make comments about service improvements.

The independent review panel is composed of:

• An independent lay chairperson.
• The convener.
• Another independent lay member.
• Two independent clinical assessors, where the complaint is of a clinical nature.

Stage four:
If a client is unhappy with the response for their complaint or their complaint was rejected because of a time limit, the following steps may be taken:

• The person making the complaint can ask the Healthcare Commission to consider their complaint within two months of receiving a response from the previous stage. The Healthcare Commission may choose to take no further action, investigate further, refer to the relevant regulatory body, or refer the complaint to the health service commissioner.
• If the person making the complaint remains dissatisfied after the independent review or if they were denied an independent review, they can take their complaint to the ombudsman, who will decide whether to investigate the complaint further.

For more information on the NHS complaints procedure, see the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk

The source of the above information is the National Treatment Agency – NTA and NHS. This information has been summarised by and for FARS services. For the direct link to the sources, click on: http://www.nta.nhs.uk/publications/documents/nta_user_feedback_and_complaints_2005_ddsp7.pdf
http://www.nta.nhs.uk/publications/documents/nta_user_feedback_and_complaints_2005_ddsp7.pdf