Appendix 1 - Definitions

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care services in England.

CQC is responsible for ensuring that health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care. 

CQC inspects and monitors the care that regulated services provide. They use information about people’s experiences of health and social care services to help them do this.  CQC cannot help with a complaint but they are interested in people’s experience of care and of making a complaint.

CQC contact details:

 ·         Website: www.cqc.org.uk (give feedback on care form)        

·         Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk

·        Care Quality Commission
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA

·         Phone: 03000 616161

Complainant

In this policy, complainant means the person making the complaint or someone who is authorised to represent them.

Local Government and Social Care  Ombudsman

Completion of local complaints process

If you have been through all stages of our complaints procedure and are still unhappy, you can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to review your complaint.

The Ombudsman investigates complaints in a fair and independent way - it does not take sides. It is a free service.

The Ombudsman expects you to have given us chance to deal with your complaint before you contact them. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable time, it may decide to look into your complaint anyway. This is usually up to 12 weeks but can be longer for social care complaints that follow a statutory process.

About the Ombudsman 

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at individual complaints about councils and some other organisations providing local public services It also investigates complaints about all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) for people who self-fund their care.

Contact

Website: www.lgo.org.uk

Telephone: 0300 061 0614

Opening hours

 Monday to Friday: 10am to 4pm (except public holidays)

Notifiable incidents and the duty of candour

Notifiable incidents in social care are serious and unintended or unexpected incidents that a health care professional believes  have resulted in (or require treatment from a health care professional to prevent):

•          death
•      impairment of sensory, motor or intellectual functions that has lasted or is likely to last for a continuous period of at least 28 consecutive days
• changes to the structure of the body
•           experiencing prolonged pain or psychological harm
• shortening life expectancy

Registered social care providers have a duty of candour to be open and honest when a notifiable incident occurs. This means:

•          telling  the person without delay and in person what has happened and providing support
• providing all the known facts and explaining what further enquiries are appropriate
• offering an apology
•  following up by giving the same information in writing, and providing an update on the enquiries
• keeping a written record of all communication with the person