The partners within the Healthy Hounslow alliance are committed to delivering the best possible service to their clients. The staff and management are accountable to clients, client representatives, commissioning authorities and the local community in delivering services of the highest standard.
From time to time, things may not run as smoothly as they should and sometimes misunderstandings occur. Left unresolved a small difficulty can become a serious issue, which is something we all want to avoid. It is very important that any concerns are raised as quickly as possible. Most complaints can and should be dealt with immediately, as it is often very difficult to make a judgement on a matter some weeks later.
Complaints handling
All complaints will be handled in the following way:
- Complaints will be dealt with courteously, promptly, professionally and objectively
- Subjects of a complaint will not be involved in considering the response to the complaint
- There will be no reprisals or negative words or actions against any person who makes a complaint or asks someone else to raise a complaint on their behalf
- Complaints against senior members of staff will be heard by the senior members of the affected partner/s management team or an independent complaints advisor
- All complainants will receive a response to their complaint and information about how to pursue it if they are dissatisfied with the outcome or the way the complaint was handled
- Written records of all complaints indicating how and when they were resolved will be kept securely and will be monitored regularly by the Healthy Hounslow partners
- Complaint records will be available for external review by inspectors
- Complaints will be treated confidentially except where this would put a person at risk when the person’s safety must be the first concern
- Any complaint which alleges any kind of abuse will be dealt with in line with our Safeguarding
What to do if you want to make a complaint
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service, you have the right to:
- Make a complaint
- Have that complaint investigated
- Be given a full and prompt reply
You can make a complaint by email, letter, in person, or by phone. If you make a complaint by phone or in person, we will write to you within 5 working days to confirm the details of your complaint, you will then need to let us know within 2 working days if we have misunderstood anything. If we do not hear from you, we will assume we have the correct details and acknowledge your complaint.
All complaints should be sent in the first instance to hello@healthyhouslow.co.uk In cases where we have taken your complaint by phone and have written to confirm you are happy with the content, we will still send an acknowledgement of your complaint after you have confirmed you are happy with what we have written.
Timetable of complaints
The period for making a complaint is normally:
- Within 12 months from the date on which the event which is the subject of the complaint occurred or
- Within 12 months from the date on which the event which is the subject of the complaint comes to the complainant’s notice
Formal complaints will be dealt with according to the timetable below. We will:
- Acknowledge by letter that we have received your complaint within 5 working days
- Conduct a thorough investigation into the issues you raise, which may involve consulting the staff concerned
- In normal circumstances we will send a full written response within 10 working days. If it is not possible to conclude any investigations within 10 working days, the complainant will be updated with the progress and possible time scales
- Send a copy of the response to any staff involved and to parents or commissioning authorities if appropriate
What if I am not satisfied with the outcome or the handling of the investigation into my complaint?
If you feel that your complaint has not been resolved satisfactorily through the above process or if you are not satisfied with the way in which your complaint has been handled, you should write to the partner/s head office details are available on request.
Should the matter still not be resolved, or If you are still not happy with the outcome of your complaint or how it was dealt with, you can ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate it by writing to: Local Government Ombudsman PO Box 4771 Coventry, CV4 0EH or visit www.lgo.org.uk.