COMPLAINTS

Reason for Policy / Purpose of Policy

Vire Aesthetics is committed to providing a safe, patient focused service to its users.  

The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011, together with supporting legislation, introduced the right to give feedback, make comments, and raise concerns and to make complaints about Healthcare services. It also places a duty on Independent clinics to actively encourage, monitor, take action and share learning from the views they receive. This policy delivers on that recommendation by explaining how our staff will handle complaints.

All personal paper-based and electronic data must be stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and must be secured against unauthorised access, accidental disclosure, loss or destruction.

Legislative Framework

Vire Aesthetics will monitor this policy to ensure it meets statutory and legal requirements including the Data Protection Act. Training on the policy will include these aspects.

This complaints handling procedure is based on the human rights principles of:

  • Participation: everyone has the right to participate in decisions which affect them, including issues of accessibility and the provision of information that people can understand.
  • Accountability: service providers have a duty to the public, patients and staff to investigate complaints and seek effective remedies.
  • Non-discrimination and equality: the complaints process is available to everyone and vulnerable or marginalised groups are supported to participate in the process.
  • Empowerment: everyone should be aware of their rights, the complaints process and be involved in the process to reach an effective remedy.
  • Legality: the complaints process identifies and upholds the human rights of staff, patients and others, and is in accordance with the requirements of all relevant legislation. It aims to provide a quick, simple and streamlined process for resolving complaints early and locally by capable, well-trained staff.

 

Who can make a complaint? Anyone who is or is likely to be affected by an act or omission of a health service provider can make a complaint. Sometimes a person making the complaint may be unable or reluctant to do so on their own. We will accept complaints brought by third parties as long as the person making the complaint has authorised the person to act on their behalf. Where a complaint is made on behalf of another person, in accordance with the common law duty of confidentiality and data protection legislation, Vire Aesthetics aims to ensure that, in addition to authorising another person to act on their behalf, the person has also consented to their personal information being shared as part of the complaints handling process. In circumstances where no such consent has been given.

Scope

All staff and directors of the company should adhere to this policy, service users should have access to policy and be made aware how to give feedback.

Vire Aesthetics values all forms of feedback.  Vire Aesthetics encourage all forms of feedback, positive and negative, and use it to continuously improve our services. The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 introduces a right for people to give feedback or comments to, or raise concerns or complaints with service providers. Feedback, comments and concerns are not complaints. They should be handled in line with the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011, and the associated Regulations and Directions. Further guidance on handling and learning from feedback, comments and concerns is available in the ‘Can I Help You’ good practice guidance document. The policy will be accessible in the clinic, the aftercare sheet which is provided will include email and number to contact if any concerns or for anyone wishing to access complaints policy.  Information of how to access all policies will be available online via current Instagram page.

Definitions

Any relevant definitions, specific to this policy.

Procedure

What is a complaint? Vire Aesthetics definition of a complaint is: ‘An expression/statement of dissatisfaction by one or more members of the public about the Independent clinics action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by or on behalf of the clinic.’

A complaint may relate to:

  • Care and/or treatment
  • Failure to provide a service
  • Inadequate standard of service
  • Dissatisfaction with the company policy
  • Treatment by or attitude of a member of staff
  • Environmental or domestic issues
  • Operational and procedural issues
  • The organisation’s failure to follow the appropriate process;
  • Lack of information and clarity about appointments;
  • Difficulty in making contact with clinic for appointments or queries.

This list does not cover everything

Ensuring the effectiveness of the policy

All staff members will receive a copy of the complaints policy. Existing and new workers will be introduced to the confidentiality policy via induction and training. The policy will be reviewed annually.

In accordance with the legislation, we will take steps to ensure that the people using our services, are aware of how they can give feedback or make a complaint, and the support that is available for them to do so. We will ensure that our own staff and service providers are aware of this procedure, and that our staff know how to handle and record complaints at the early resolution stage.

Supporting the person making the complaint and making the policy easily accessible within the clinic.

All members of the community have the right to equal access to our complaints handling procedure. People who do not have English as a first language may need help with interpretation and translation services, and others may have specific needs that we will seek to address to ensure easy access to the complaints handling procedure. Vire Aesthetics will always respect human rights and take into account our commitment and responsibilities to equality as defined within the Equality Act (2010). This includes making reasonable adjustments to our services where appropriate.  Several support and advocacy groups are available to support people to pursue a complaint and they should be signposted to these as appropriate.

 

Stage 1 – early resolution Always try to resolve the complaint quickly and to the person’s satisfaction wherever we can.

  1. Investigate immediately where it is clear that the complaint is particularly complex or will require detailed investigation. Is the person satisfied with our decision? Log and send acknowledgement within three working days and provide the decision as soon as possible but within 20 working days, unless there is a clear reason for extending this timescale.

Update complaints spreadsheet and close the complaint. Provide a decision on the person within five working days unless there are exceptional circumstances. If person is satisfied with response the complaint can be closed and outcome recorded.

Stage 2 – investigation 1. Investigate where the person is still dissatisfied after we have communicated our decision at stage 1.

STAGE 2 INVESTIGATION Complaint closed and outcome recorded.

  • Ensure ALL complaints are recorded;
  • Report performance and analyse outcomes;
  • Make changes to service delivery where appropriate;
  • Tell people about service improvements. Complaints

Responsibilities

Vire Aesthetics employees will be responsible for ensuring training, adherence and reviewing of Policy is kept up to date

Patients can make a complaint directly in person to the practitioners verbally or in writing to

Vire Aesthetics

Unit 5.2

TOLLCLOCK SHOPPING CENTRE

26 North Road

Lerwick

ZE1 0DE

OR via email to vireaesthetics@mail.com

Vire Aesthetics process for handling a compliant:

1 On receiving a complaint, you must first decide whether the issue can indeed be defined as a complaint. The person making the complaint may express dissatisfaction about more than one issue. This may mean you treat one element as a complaint, while directing the person to pursue another element through an alternative route (see Appendix 2).

2 If you have received and identified a complaint, log the details on our complaints system (vireaesthetics@mail.comor call 07766013349).

3 Next, decide whether or not the complaint is suitable for early resolution. Some complaints will need to be fully investigated before you can give a suitable response. You must handle these complaints immediately at the investigation stage.

4 Where you think early resolution is appropriate, you must consider four key questions:

  • What exactly is the person’s complaint (or complaints)
  • What do they want to achieve by complaining
  • Can I achieve this, or explain why not; and
  • If I cannot resolve this, who can help with early resolution?

5 Vire Aesthetics strives to always incorporate learning for improvement at all times but especially following any feedback or complaint.  Reviewing and identifying areas of practice and standards following any complaint will be compulsory

Learning through continuous improvement is an approach Vire Aesthetics applies to learning that will involve regularly seeking out opportunities to improve your skills and knowledge and then taking action to make those improvements. By setting goals and actions to achieve improvements at all times

Enforcement / Compliance

In cases where an individual is unsatisfied with standards of conduct, ethics or performance by an individual health professional, it may be for the respective professional body to investigate. These include, for example the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Medical Council, the General Dental Council, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and the General Optical Society. Where serious concerns about a registered healthcare worker are identified, a referral to the appropriate professional regulator should be made.

Members of the public, including patients, the general public and those acting on behalf of patients and others may raise issues with their health service providers, which need to be addressed, but which are not appropriate for an investigation under this Complaints Handling Procedure.

Further guidance is provided in the section covering feedback, comments and concerns below. This complaints procedure does not apply to the following complaints, as set out in Regulations:

  • A complaint raised by a service provider about any matter connected with the contract or arrangements under which that service provider provides health services
  • A complaint arising out of an alleged failure to comply with a request for information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002(a)
  • A complaint about which the person making the complaint has commenced legal proceedings (whether or not these have concluded), or where the feedback and complaints officer considers that legal proceedings are so likely that it would not be appropriate to investigate the complaint under this procedure
  • A complaint, the subject matter of which has previously been investigated and responded to. In these cases, there is a separate procedure available which is better placed to carry outthe investigation, indeed in many cases a separate investigation may already be underway. If a complaint is raised which is within one of these categories, you must write to the individual, explaining the reason that this complaints procedure does not apply and the procedure the individual should use to raise the matter with the appropriate person. You may send this explanation electronically, provided that the person making the complaint has consented to this in writing, and has not withdrawn their consent.

 

Complaints information available to service users:
Healthcare Improvement Scotland is the regulator for independent healthcare services across Scotland and can accept complaints at any time from a complainant.
Contact details are:
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Independent Healthcare Team
Gyle Square,
1 South Gyle Crescent,
Edinburgh,
EH12 9EB
T: 0131 623 4342 E: his.ihcregulation@nhs.scot

Non-adherence

Breaches of this policy will be dealt with under the Grievance and/or Disciplinary procedures as appropriate.

Related information

Patient Confidentiality (GDC) 

The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (NMC, 2008) 

Record Keeping: Guidance for Nurses and midwives (NMC) 

The Data Protection Act 1998 

European Convention on Human Rights Act (2000) 

The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011,

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 

The Mental Capacity Act (2005) 

The Apologies (Scotland) Act 2016

The Equality Act (2010).

Healthcare Improvement Scotland