Concerns and Complaints

Help us get it right

This leaflet is designed to give you information on how to raise a concern, or make a complaint about the services, supporter events, retail and lottery provided by St. Rocco’s Hospice. We know that it is not always easy to raise a concern or make a complaint, but we value your comments and feedback about our services as it enables us to put things right or improve services for other patients, families and all people involved in hospice services. The staff at St. Rocco’s Hospice are committed to providing care for patients and their families to the highest professional standards.

Raising your concerns

If you, your relatives or your carers are unhappy with any aspect of your care or service you receive you, or they, should speak with a member of staff who has been dealing with you in the first instance, as they may be able to sort the problem out straight away. Our staff should make every attempt to provide answers, resolve problems, and satisfy you at this stage.

What is a complaint

A complaint can be defined as follows:

‘A statement, written or verbal, made by a patient, family member, carer, health or social care professional, to a member of staff regarding a problem with a service, with the expectation that corrective action will be taken.’

Where a complaint is made it will be acknowledged promptly and investigated following the St. Rocco’s Hospice complaints procedure. All complaints will be dealt with informally/formally based on discussions with the complainant as to what they would like to happen as an outcome.

You can make an informal/formal complaint to the Heads of Department / Senior Nurse, in writing, verbally or by asking for a meeting.

If we get things wrong

We Will:

• Acknowledge your complaint and treat it seriously.

• Apologise where complaints are found to be justified and take steps to correct what has gone wrong, with the aim of preventing a similar problem in the future.

• Investigate your complaint thoroughly. You should expect to receive an initial written complaint response within two working days of us receiving it (unless a full response can be made within five days) and the process of an investigation will begin. A full response to your complaint will be available within twenty working days.

• Make a fair and unbiased decision.

• Keep you informed of the progress and outcome of your complaint.

The Hospice supports the NHS Improvement principles of Being Open. Being Open supports a culture of openness, honesty and transparency, and includes apologising and explaining what happened when something went wrong.

Although we have a standard response time for each stage of the complaint process, we are aware that some complaints take more time to investigate than others.

In these cases we will inform you in writing about the anticipated length of the time involved. If you feel that your complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily, you can ask for the complaint to be referred to the Chief Executive Officer of the Hospice, or you can contact the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

You can approach the CQC at any stage of the investigation if you are unhappy with the process. You can also contact them directly instead of making your complaint to the Hospice, should you feel it more appropriate to do so. Advice on making a complaint about the Hospice is also available from the Charity Commission.

If you have reached the final stage of the complaints process and you are still not happy, you can complain to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Please be aware that if you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we adhere strictly to the rules of General Data Protection Regulation 2018. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have his/her permission to do so. Please contact the hospice for information regarding this process.

Getting in Touch

Please Email:

Chief Executive Officer, St Rocco’s Hospice
enquiries@stroccos.org.uk

Care Quality Commission

Northwest Citygate,
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA
Email: enquiries.northwest@cpc.org.uk

Charity Commission

www.charitycommission.gov.org
Healthcare Ombudsman
www.ombudsman.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Tel: 0344 015 4033
The Fundraising Regulator
www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk

Betting Adjudication Association

www.ibas-uk.com

*Data Protection – The sharing of sensitive, personal information is strictly controlled by law (Data Protection Act 2018) with which the Hospice complies. This may include providing patient data to the Care Quality Commission if requested to do so. You can find more information about how we store and use your data in our Privacy Policy