Complaints Procedure

Note: It is important to have a clear and fair complaint procedure in place to ensure that staff feel comfortable raising concerns and that any issues are dealt with promptly and fairly. This complaint procedure is reviewed and updated regularly. Also, it is important to make sure that these time frames are feasible and realistic, also that the staff are informed of the complaint procedure and the time frames.

Informal complaint: Staff should first raise any complaints informally with their immediate supervisor or manager. The supervisor or manager should attempt to resolve the issue within 3 working days.

Formal complaint: If the issue is not resolved informally, staff may submit a formal complaint in writing to the StellarNurse’s human resources department within 5 working days. The complaint should include all relevant details, including dates, names of parties involved, and a description of the issue.

Investigation: The human resources department will investigate the complaint and provide a written response to the staff member within 10 working days from the date the complaint was received.

Appeal: If the staff member is not satisfied with the response, they may appeal the decision in writing to the agency’s management team within 5 working days from the date of the response.

Confidentiality: All complaints and investigations will be treated confidentially, and staff will not be subject to retaliation for making a complaint in good faith.

Record-keeping: StellarNurses will keep a record of all complaints received and the actions taken in response.
Any complaints received from the client or candidate with be acknowledged within 3-4 days. The complaint could be made on plain lined paper, or a complaints form can be requested.

All reasonable endeavours will be made by StellarNurses to ensure that all complaints are resolved within fifteen days of the complaint being received:

• StellarNurses shall ensure that in the event of the complaint being against a staff member that the staff member will be fully informed of the complaints and will be issued with a copy of the complaint.
• The Staff Member will be given the opportunity to state their version of events and will be given seven days to respond to StellarNurses in writing.
• All responses will be shared with the complainant and if appropriate,
StellarNurses will take demonstrable action to ensure there is no recurrence of the act or omission complained of.
• The client may at any time request an update as to the progress of the resolution of the complaint.
• The client will receive a written response from StellarNurses, detailing how the complaint has been resolved.
• Where there is evidence of malpractice or the complaint is an event
that requires notification, StellarNurses will immediately notify CQC, The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, The Police, Protection of Vulnerable Adults or Children, Safeguarding Authority and where applicable alert the staff members professional body i.e. NMC, HPC and GMC.
• StellarNurses, where necessary will immediately suspend the staff member from its register whilst an investigation is in progress.
• StellarNurses undertakes to work with all parties applicable to an investigation and where necessary share findings of such investigations.
• A full written record of the nature of each complaint and details of
the action taken will be securely kept and can only be accessed by designate HR staff.
• StellarNurses has a system in place to analyse and identify any patterns in complaints and trend analysis is conducted regularly.
• StellarNurses will, via its internal audit processes review all complaints and take action to prevent reccurrence.
• The complainant at anytime has the right to refer this matter for
review to the Care Quality Commission, The Regulation and Quality
Improvement Authority or other professional bodies.
• Complaints should be addressed to HR Manager, StellarNurses,
Mayfield Street, Nottingham, NG17 8LU.