People who use our services, experts by experience, families, carers and staff told us what they would want our approach to complaints to look like. They said:
- I want to see a positive culture around complaints handling.
- I want to feel listened to when I have given my feedback.
- I want staff to be honest with me.
- I want staff to capture my views.
- I want staff to learn from my experience.
We want to achieve this for everyone who comes into contact with our services. If you have something you want to raise with us please contact us, we want to hear from you.
Sometimes things do not go to plan and we understand that we might have got things wrong. We want to listen and put things right. If you want to contact us about concerns you have, please click the ‘Raise a concern or complaint’ button below and we will try to resolve things quickly and to your satisfaction. If we think it is going to take a little longer to resolve we will make sure you are kept updated. If we think your concerns will be handled better through another process, we will talk this through with you.
FAQ’s
What is your complaints policy?
Our policies outline how we handle concerns and complaints in Cygnet, how long you have to raise your concerns and our commitment to responding to your concerns. We encourage you to raise you concerns as soon as possible so that we can look into your concerns.
- If your complaint relates to a service in Scotland our policy is here: Download our Complaints Procedure in Scotland
- If you want to raise a concern about one of our schools our policy is here: Download our Complaints Procedure for Cygnet Schools
- All policies have Easy Read versions and can be found here:
Can anyone make a complaint?
Anyone may make a complaint to us:
- if they have received or are receiving care and services from our organisation.
- if they are not in direct receipt of our care or services but are affected, or likely to be affected by, any action, inaction or decision by our organisation.
If the person affected does not wish to deal with the complaint themselves, they can appoint a representative to raise the complaint on their behalf. There is no restriction on who may represent the person affected. However, the person receiving care may need to provide us with their consent for their representative to raise and discuss the complaint with us and to see their personal information, including any relevant medical records.
If you are a current or former member of staff, we may need to manage your concerns through our human resources policies and you should contact HR through the Contact Us form.
What if my concerns cannot be processed through the complaint policy?
When we receive a concern or complaint, we have to ensure that the information being shared is handled appropriately. Sometimes people raise concerns with us that we have a duty to look into through a different procedure, for example we may need to investigate through our safeguarding procedure or patient safety procedure. We will write to you and let you know how we are addressing your concerns.
Who can help me to raise my concerns?
There are several people or organisations who can support you to raise and communicate your concerns:
- Your care team – they can listen to concern you have and try to resolve them.
- Advocate – the majority of our services have an advocate who visits the service regularly and they can help you to raise your concern to us.
- Carers advocacy – some of our services have access to www.blackbeltadvocacy.com who can help you navigate the system. Ask the service manager if the service you have contact with has a carer’s advocate.
If you have already been through the complaints process, or you wish to raise your concerns directly with an external body you can contact:
- Regulatory body for Health and Social Care
- Health Care or Local Ombudsman
- Department for Education
See policies above for details of how to contact the organisations operating in your area.
What if I want to see my records as part of my concerns?
The feedback and complaints team are not able to handle this request for you. However, you may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. If you would like a copy of the information held on you, please email: [email protected].