A working draft. The stages and timescales below must match Bellus's actual complaints policy, and the policy itself must meet CQC Regulation 16. Do not publish timescales you cannot meet — a missed complaints deadline is itself a regulatory issue.

Nobody enjoys complaining. People often worry that it will affect the care they or their relative receives, or that they'll be seen as difficult.

It won't, and you won't. Telling us about a problem is information we need in order to do our job properly. We would far rather fix something small now than discover it later.

How to complain

You can raise a concern in whatever way is easiest for you — there is no form you have to use.

Talk to the person supporting you, or to their manager. Most things are sorted out this way, quickly.
Phone us on +44 20 4634 2291
Email us at COMPLAINTS EMAIL
Write to us at REGISTERED OFFICE ADDRESS
Ask someone to complain for you — a relative, a friend or an advocate. We will need the person's consent where they have capacity to give it.

If you need this information in another format, or support to make a complaint, tell us and we will arrange it. CONFIRM what is available — easy read, large print, interpreter, advocacy referral

What happens next

Stage 1 — We acknowledge it

We confirm we've received your complaint and tell you who is handling it. TIMESCALE — commonly 3 working days

Stage 2 — We look into it

We investigate properly, speak to the people involved, and write to you with what we found and what we're doing. TIMESCALE — commonly 28 days, with an interim update if it will take longer

Stage 3 — You can ask for a review

If you are not satisfied, a senior manager not previously involved will review it. TIMESCALE

Stage 4 — Independent escalation

If you are still not satisfied, you can take it outside Bellus — see below. We will tell you how, and we will not obstruct it.

Taking it further

Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman

The Ombudsman looks at complaints about adult social care in England, including care arranged and paid for privately. They are independent and free to use. They will normally expect you to have been through our complaints process first.

lgo.org.uk · 0300 061 0614

If your care is funded by a local authority or the NHS

You can also complain to the body that funds your care. CONFIRM routes for LA-funded, CHC-funded and Section 117 arrangements, and add the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman route where NHS-funded

Care Quality Commission

The CQC cannot investigate or resolve individual complaints, but it does want to hear about concerns — it uses that information to decide where and when to inspect. 03000 616161, or cqc.org.uk.

Information rights

If your complaint is about how we have handled personal data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. See our privacy policy.

What we promise

Complaining will never affect the quality of care you or your relative receives
We will be honest with you about what we find, including when we got it wrong — this is our duty of candour
We record every complaint and review them together, so we spot patterns rather than just individual events
We report complaints data to the CQC and to commissioners as required
You can complain anonymously, though it limits what we can feed back to you

Compliments

Care work is hard, and people rarely hear when they have done it well. If a member of our team has made a difference, telling us means we can tell them — and it goes on their record.

Tell Us About Someone

Still to be confirmed

Complaints email address and named complaints handler
Actual timescales for each stage, matched to the written policy
Accessible formats and advocacy arrangements
Whether an easy-read version of this page is needed — for a supported living provider, it should be