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How to make a formal complaint
If you are unhappy about something we have done, please talk to any of our staff to explain your concerns.
Many concerns can be dealt with informally in this way. You can:
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speak to us in person
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phone us
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email us
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write to us
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send us a fax.
Please also use any of these ways to make a formal complaint.
What happens when you make a formal complaint
All complaints will be passed immediately to the Divisional Director who is responsible for the area the complaint relates to.
The Divisional Director will write to you within three working days. Their letter will include:
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the name of the person investigating the complaint (called the investigating officer)
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a commitment to complete the investigation within 28 days.
The investigating officer will meet you and will compile a detailed account of the circumstances and the outcome you are seeking. If you prefer, or if a meeting is impractical for any reason, they will phone you.
The investigating officer will carry out a full investigation and report to their Divisional Director.
The Divisional Director will then write to you with the outcome and any actions we will take. This is called the complaints outcome letter.
If you are not satisfied
If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can write to our Director of Operations and Quality at the Head Office address below. You’ll need to do so within 10 days of you receiving the complaints outcome letter.
The Director of Operations and Quality may then carry out a review in person, or ask a Divisional Director or person working at that level to do so. The person appointed will be outside the division the complaint refers to.
The reviewer will write to you within 21 days detailing the outcome of the review.
Other ways to complain
Most of Affinity Trust’s services are commissioned by local authorities, and regulated by the Care Quality Commission in England or the Care Inspectorate in Scotland.
You can contact any of these bodies at any time. Please contact us for the details of the local authority that commissioned the service you are unhappy with.
You can also contact the Local Government Ombudsman, which looks at complaints about social care services, councils and local authorities.
The Care Quality Commission will not get involved in individual complaints but will use the information provided to assess the quality of the service.
The Care Inspectorate encourages complaints to be made to Affinity Trust in the first instance and will not investigate complaints that are more than six months old.
Please note
We will usually only accept complaints made within 12 months of the date of the event that is the subject of the complaint, or within 12 months of you becoming aware of the complaint.
Any complaints that involve allegations or concerns of abuse will be fully investigated according to our Safeguarding Policy.