Caring about Complaints: lessons from our independent care provider investigations

 Funded Nursing Care payments - guidance for care providers (PDF)

 My Expectations for Raising Concerns and Complaints - research into patient and service user expectations of good complaint handling in health and social care (PDF)

• See also: Adult social care annual complaint reviews - the state of adult social care complaints, including our statistics for care providers and councils

 Template complaint procedure - a ready written document to adapt (PDF)

 Template complaint procedure - Microsoft Word version (DOC)

 Complaint management checklist - ensure your complaint procedure covers everything it should (PDF)

 Signpost to the Ombudsman and CQC - how to tell people of their right to come to the Ombudsman or the regulator (PDF)

 Signpost to the Ombudsman and CQC - Microsoft Word version (DOCX)

How to... guides

 How to write a decision letter (PDF)

 How to write an apology (PDF)

Template letters to adapt

 Initial letter (PDF)

 Initial letter - Microsoft Word version (DOCX)

 Holding letter (PDF)

 Holding letter - Microsoft Word version (DOCX)

 Final decision letter (PDF)

 Final decision letter - Microsoft Word version (DOCX)

 Adult social care complaints (PDF)

 Premature complaints (PDF)

We offer two courses for social care providers, developed and delivered by our experienced complaint-handlers:

• a one-day skills course in investigating adult social care complaints aimed at managers and other staff who investigate complaints
• a half-day course for frontline care provider staff which looks at the initial stages of handling complaints.

Please note: During the COVID-19 pandemic we have paused face-to-face training while social distancing measures are in place, and have are delivering online training courses.

 Care providers poster (PDF)