Information & accountability
Complaints Policy
Information about raising concerns, making a complaint and how Brooks handles feedback.
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Home Care and Supported Living Services
1. Policy Statement
Brooks Health and Care Limited is committed to providing high-quality, safe and
compassionate care and support. We believe that anyone who uses our services, or who is
close to someone who does, has the right to tell us when something is wrong and to expect it
to be put right.
We welcome complaints, concerns, comments and compliments. We treat every complaint as
valuable feedback and an opportunity to learn, adapt and improve the service we provide. We
will never treat anyone less favourably, or allow the quality of their care to suffer, because they
have raised a concern or made a complaint.
This policy sets out how we receive, handle, investigate and respond to complaints across both
our home care and supported living services, in line with our legal and regulatory duties.
2. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to make sure that:
- Everyone who uses our services knows how to raise a concern or make a complaint, and finds it easy to do so.
- Complaints are taken seriously, dealt with promptly, fairly and without blame, and used to improve care.
- People are supported and never disadvantaged for raising concerns.
- We meet our duties under the relevant legislation and the standards set by the Care Quality Commission.
3. Scope
This policy applies to all of our regulated activities, including personal care delivered in people’s
own homes and the support we provide within our supported living services. It applies to all
Brooks Health and Care staff, including permanent, bank, agency and volunteer workers.
- A complaint may be raised by, or on behalf of, any of the following:
- A service user or a person we support.
- A relative, friend, next of kin, carer or advocate, with the consent of the person concerned
- A representative acting under a lasting power of attorney, deputyship or other lawful.
- A commissioner, social worker, health professional or other partner organisation involved in the person’s care.
Where a complaint is made on someone’s behalf, we will normally seek that person’s consent
before we share information about their care, unless they lack the capacity to consent, in which
case we will act in their best interests under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
4. Definitions
Complaint: an expression of dissatisfaction, whether spoken or written, that requires a
response. A complaint may be about the quality or safety of care, the conduct of a member of
staff, a decision we have made, or the way we have communicated.
Concern: an issue raised informally that can usually be resolved quickly at the point of care,
without triggering the formal procedure.
Comment or suggestion: feedback about how we could do something differently or better.
Compliment: positive feedback about our service or our staff, which we record and share with
the team.
5. Our principles
In handling complaints we will always be:
- Accessible: we make it easy to complain in whatever way suits the person, and we
- provide support and information in accessible formats.
- Person-centred: we listen to what the person wants to happen and keep them at the centre of the process.
- Fair and open: we investigate without prejudging the outcome, and we are honest
- about what we find.
- Timely: we acknowledge and respond within clear timescales and keep people
- informed of progress.
- Confidential: we handle information sensitively and in line with data protection law.
- Free from reprisal: no one will be treated less favourably for raising a concern.
- Focused on learning: we use complaints to improve care for everyone.
6. Legislation and standards
This policy is written to comply with, and should be read alongside, the following:
- The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, in
- particular Regulation 16 (receiving and acting on complaints) and Regulation 20 (duty of candour).
- The Care Quality Commission fundamental standards and the key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
- The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England)
- Regulations 2009, where our services are funded or arranged by a local authority or the NHS.
- The Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Equality Act 2010, the Accessible
- Information Standard, and the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018.
7. Roles and responsibilities
All staff
Every member of staff is responsible for listening to concerns, treating people with respect,
trying to put things right at the point of care where they can, and passing any complaint to the
Registered Manager without delay. Staff must never discourage a person from complaining.
Registered Manager
The Registered Manager holds overall responsibility for the complaints procedure. They make
sure complaints are acknowledged, investigated and responded to within the timescales in this
policy, that outcomes are recorded, and that lessons learned lead to real improvements. The
Registered Manager also makes sure that complaints raising safeguarding, duty of candour or
notification issues are escalated correctly.
Nominated Individual and Directors
The Nominated Individual and the directors of Brooks Health and Care hold the Registered
Manager to account for effective complaints handling, review complaints trends as part of
governance, and may carry out or oversee the review stage of a complaint where the
complainant remains dissatisfied.
8. How to make a complaint
You can raise a concern or make a complaint in whatever way is easiest for you:
● In person or by telephone to any member of our care or office team, or to the
Registered
○ By telephone on 01234 954004.
○ By email to admin@brookshealthandcare.com.
● In writing to: The Registered Manager, Brooks Health and Care Limited, 8 Juniper Walk,
Kempston, Bedford, MK42 7SX.
You do not need to put your complaint in writing, and you do not need to use any special form.
If it helps, a member of our team will write down your complaint for you and check that we
have understood it correctly.
Support to complain
We recognise that some of the people we support may need help to raise a concern. We will:
● Provide information about complaining in accessible formats, for example easy read,
large print, or another language, in line with the Accessible Information Standard.
● Support people to use an advocate, including an independent advocate, where this
would help them to be heard.
● Make reasonable adjustments so that a person’s disability, communication needs or
health never prevent them from complaining.
● Involve families, representatives and, in supported living, a person’s circle of support
where the person wishes.
9. Our complaints procedure
Stage 1: Local resolution
Many concerns can be resolved quickly and informally by the person raising them with a carer,
a supervisor or the office. Wherever possible we will try to put things right straight away. If a
concern cannot be resolved at this stage, or if the person wants their complaint dealt with
formally, it moves to Stage 2.
Stage 2: Formal investigation
The Registered Manager, or a senior manager they appoint who was not involved in the matter
complained about, will investigate. We will:
- Acknowledge the complaint within 3 working days of receiving it.
- Agree with the complainant how they would like to be kept informed, what they want to happen, and the likely timescale.
- Investigate thoroughly and fairly, gathering the relevant records and speaking to the people involved.
- Provide a full written response, normally within 20 working days, explaining what we found, what we have done or will do, and how to escalate the complaint if the person remains unhappy.
- If the investigation is complex and cannot be completed within 20 working days, we will contact the complainant to explain why, agree a revised timescale, and keep them updated until the complaint is resolved.
Stage 3: Review
If the complainant is not satisfied with our response, they may ask for the matter to be
reviewed by the Nominated Individual or a director. They will look again at how the complaint
was handled and at the outcome, and send a further written response. We will also tell the
person about their right to take the complaint to an independent body, as set out in section 14.
10. Timescales at a glance
| Stage | Timescale |
|---|---|
| Acknowledge the complaint | Within 3 working days |
| Full written response | Normally within 20 working days |
| If more time is needed | Explain, agree a revised date, and keep the person updated |
| Request for review (Stage 3) | Acknowledged within 3 working days and responded to as soon as reasonably possible |
11. Confidentiality and data protection
We handle all complaints in confidence. Information about a complaint is shared only with
those who need it to investigate and resolve the matter. We process personal data in line with
the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Records of a
complaint are kept separately from the person’s care records and do not affect the care they
receive.
12. Complaints that raise safeguarding concerns
If a complaint suggests that an adult is at risk of abuse, harm or neglect, the safety of the person
always comes first. We will make an immediate safeguarding referral to the relevant local
authority safeguarding team, follow our Safeguarding Adults Policy, and notify the Care Quality
Commission and other bodies as required. Safeguarding matters are dealt with under
safeguarding procedures, which run alongside, and take priority over, this complaints
procedure.
13. Duty of candour
Where something has gone wrong with a person’s care and has caused, or could cause, harm,
we will act openly and honestly in line with our duty of candour under Regulation 20. We will
tell the person, or their representative, what happened as soon as reasonably practicable, offer
an apology, explain what we are doing to put things right, and record the steps we have taken.
14. Taking your complaint further
If you are not happy with how we have dealt with your complaint, you have the right to take it
to an independent body. You do not have to have finished our procedure before contacting
them, but they will usually expect you to have given us the chance to put things right first.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is the final stage for complaints about
adult social care in England. It is free and independent, and it can look at complaints about all
care providers, including complaints from people who fund their own care as well as those
whose care is arranged by a council.
● Telephone: 0300 061 0614
● Website: www.lgo.org.uk
● Post: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH
Your local authority or NHS commissioner
If your care or support is funded or arranged by a local authority or the NHS, you can also raise
your complaint with the commissioning team that arranged it. We will provide their contact
details on request.
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC does not investigate or resolve individual complaints, but it welcomes
information about people’s experiences of care and uses it to inform its monitoring and
inspection of services.
● Telephone: 03000 616161
● Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk
● Website: www.cqc.org.uk
● Post: CQC National Customer Service Centre, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA
15. Anonymous complaints
We take anonymous complaints seriously and investigate them as far as we reasonably can.
We recognise, however, that we may be limited in what we can do or feed back where we
cannot contact the person who raised the concern.
16. Unreasonable or persistent complaints
In rare cases a complaint may be pursued in a way that is unreasonable, for example where it is
repeated after it has been fully investigated and responded to, or where the behaviour towards
our staff is abusive. In these situations the Registered Manager may agree reasonable limits on
contact, while still treating any genuinely new concern on its merits. Any such decision will be
explained in writing, along with the reasons for it and how it can be reviewed.
17. Recording, monitoring and learning
We keep a central record of all complaints, including the nature of the complaint, how it was
handled, the outcome, and any action taken. The Registered Manager reviews complaints
regularly, and complaints trends and lessons learned are reported to the directors as part of our
governance and quality assurance. We use this information to improve training, review our
processes, and raise the quality of care across both our home care and supported living
services
18. Comments, suggestions and compliments
We welcome all feedback, not only complaints. If you would like to tell us about something we
have done well, or suggest how we could improve, you can contact us using any of the details
in section 8. We record compliments and share them with our teams, and we use comments
and suggestions to keep improving
19. Related policies
This policy should be read alongside our Safeguarding Adults Policy, Duty of Candour Policy,
Whistleblowing Policy, Mental Capacity and Best Interests Policy, Equality and Diversity Policy,
and Data Protection and Confidentiality Policy.
20. Review
This policy will be reviewed at least every two years, or sooner if there is a change in
legislation, regulatory guidance or the way we deliver our services. Any changes will be
approved by the Registered Manager and the Nominated Individual and communicated to all
staff.
Document control
| Policy title | Complaints Policy and Procedure |
|---|---|
| Applies to | All Brooks Health and Care services, staff, service users, people we support, and their representatives |
| Policy owner | Barbara Faduola (Registered Manager) |
| Approved by | Barbara Faduola |
| Version | 3.0 |
| Date issued | 22 September 2026 |
| Next review date | 22 September 2028 |
| Company registration number | 11658165 |
| CQC provider ID | 1-11584124423 |
Questions about this policy?
Contact Brooks using the details in the policy above.