We always aim to provide high standards of care and service in all our homes, all the time.
So it’s important that we always listen to the views of our residents and their families. Listening to what people say – and acting upon it – helps us to ensure that 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 so that we can take action to put it right.
If any complaint alerts us to possible abuse or neglect, we will tell the local Council’s Adult Safeguarding Team. The Safeguarding Team will decide how to investigate and monitor outcomes. We will co-operate fully with the process.
MAKING A SUGGESTION
Often, people feel more comfortable suggesting improvements rather than complaining formally. Suggestions can be made by any resident or their friends and family. To make a suggestion you can:
- Speak directly to the Home Manager or their Deputy
- Use comments or suggestion boxes
If your suggestion is something that Oakland Care needs to consider as a whole company, you can send it to:
Malcolm Hague, Director of Operations
244, Lambourne Road, Chigwell, Essex, IG76HX
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 we gain from investigating a complaint to help us to improve the service we provide. We treat all complaints in confidence.
Oakland Care can categorically assure residents and their families that we would never withdraw or reduce services simply because someone makes a complaint in good faith.
Anyone affected by the way Oakland Care 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
- 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.
In the first instance, you should always raise your concerns with the Manager of the home.
You can complain:
- In-person
- By telephone
- Through a member of our team
- Through an advocate or representative
- By letter
- By email.
We deal with anonymous complaints using exactly the same procedure as for other complaints. Of course, if you don’t want to provide contact details, we cannot update you directly on the outcome of our investigation.
Malcolm Hague, Director of Operations, has overall responsibility for dealing with all complaints made about our service. We will provide as far as is reasonably practical:
- Any help you need to understand the complaints procedure
- Advice on where you may get that help
- Information about making a complaint in a way you can understand.
An appointed person from the management team at Oakland Care will investigate the complaint. The person will have enough seniority and experience to deal with the issues raised by the complaint.
We will formally acknowledge a complaint within seven working days of receiving it and give you the name and contact details of the person investigating it, unless – of course – your complaint is made anonymously.
We will keep you informed about the progress of the investigation. We aim to have all complaints investigations completed within 28 working days, unless we agree a different time scale with you. When we have finished our investigation, we will arrange to meet 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.
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.
At any stage during the process, if you are not happy with the way the service is dealing with your complaint you can contact Malcolm Hague, Director of Operations, 244, Lambourne Road, Chigwell, Essex, IG76HX. Tel: 0203 1019 3939
Local Authority
You can also contact your Local Authority Complaints Team via your local authority’s main offices.
Ombudsman
If you are unhappy with the outcome once we have dealt with your complaint, 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://complaints.lgo.org.uk/
It is worth noting that the Ombudsman will not normally investigate a complaint until the provider has had an opportunity to respond and resolve matters.
CQC
Oakland Care is registered with and regulated by the Care Quality Commission. The CQC cannot get involved in individual complaints about providers but is happy to receive feedback 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
