the dudley group of hospitals nhs trust complaints policy and ...

4.7 Investigating and Responding to Complaints4.7.1 ProcedureThe target for the response to be sent is within 25 working days from receipt of thecomplaint. Where this is not possible, a ‘hold letter’ or interim reply will be sent bythe Business Support Manager (Complaints) (hold letter) or Chief Executive(interim reply) giving an explanation for the delay and an indication when theresponse is likely to be available. The complainant can agree to an extension tothe 25-day time limit.4.7.2 DocumentationAll aspects of the investigation will be clearly recorded and all documentation,including staff statements, how the facts have been ascertained etc, will beretained by the Complaints Co-ordinator. In the event that the complainantsubsequently requests an independent review, copies of all documentation will berequired by the Healthcare Commission. Staff should be aware that, should thematter proceed to litigation, all the complaints documentation is subject todisclosure. Copies of complaints correspondence will not be held on the patient’shealth records.In addition to ensuring good patient care, complete, accurate and timely recordsallow a clear picture of events to be obtained which is imperative for managingcomplaints, and for auditing practice.4.7.3 The InvestigationThe investigation will be independent and the Complaints Co-ordinator will havethe relevant skills to undertake the task of investigating and responding to thecomplaint.When a complaint involves a serious clinical incident, the investigation will take theform of a RCA (root cause analysis) – see Trust’s Incident Policy for details. Thecomplaint/incident will be placed on the Trust ‘red incident matrix’, which willensure that the investigation and any action plan is monitored by the Patient SafetyGroup which also takes responsibility for ensuring that issues of Trust-widesignificance will be disseminated, as necessary, together with any lessons learned.All complaints will be graded according to severity. Severity 4 (major patient safetyissues) and severity 5 (a number of major/complex patient safety issues) will bereported to the Patient Safety Group. Grading of the complaints will be undertakenby the appropriate Matron and/or senior Clinician and will be returned to theComplaints Co-ordinator for recording in the Complaints database. The Matronand/or senior clinician will assess the complaint and clearly identify the issues atthe outset. The Matron and/or senior clinician will nominate an appropriate leadwho will provide a draft response to the Complaints Co-ordinator.13