FOCUS GENTLY
Complaints
At Focus Gently we’re committed to providing safe, high-quality care. We welcome your feedback, and we take every concern and complaint seriously — using them to put things right and to improve our service.
Our commitment to you
• We treat every concern and complaint seriously, fairly and promptly.
• You won’t be treated differently, and your care won’t be affected, because you’ve complained.
• We handle complaints confidentially and in line with data protection law.
• Where something has gone wrong, we act openly and honestly.
• We learn from complaints and use them to improve.
How to raise a concern or complaint
Many concerns can be resolved quickly and informally — please just tell us, and we’ll do our best to put things right. If you’d like to make a formal complaint, you can contact our Registered Manager:
• By phone: 020 3488 0783
• By email: info@focusgently.com
• By post: Registered Manager, Focus Gently, 41 Harebell Road Ipswich IP2 0LS
If you need any support to make a complaint — for example, a reasonable adjustment, or help from an advocate or family member — please tell us and we’ll assist.
A complaint can be made by you, or by someone acting on your behalf with your consent. We ask that complaints are normally raised within 12 months of the event, or of you becoming aware of it, though we’ll consider complaints outside this period where it’s reasonable to do so.
What happens next
• We’ll acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days.
• We’ll investigate thoroughly and send you a full written response, normally within 20 working days.
• If we need longer for a more complex matter, we’ll explain why, give you a revised timescale, and keep you updated.
• Our response will explain what we found, any action we’re taking, and how to take things further if you’re not satisfied.
If you’re not satisfied
If you’re unhappy with our response, please tell us and we’ll review the matter. If you remain dissatisfied, you can escalate outside the service:
• Independent adjudication: unresolved complaints can be referred for independent external review through [ISCAS — the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service]. [Confirm the external adjudication route Focus Gently subscribes to.]
• Care Quality Commission (CQC): you can share your experience of our service with CQC. CQC doesn’t resolve individual complaints, but uses the information to inform its regulation. Call 03000 616161 or visit www.cqc.org.uk.
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC): if your concern is about the professional conduct of our nurse prescriber, you can contact the NMC at www.nmc.org.uk.
Your privacy
Complaint records are kept securely and separately from your clinical records, handled in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and retained in line with our records-retention policy. Making a complaint will never affect your care.
Focus Gently is a trading name of Acute Care Direct Limited, registered with the Care Quality Commission. This complaints procedure meets our obligations under Regulation 16 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.