This is the complaints procedure and policy (Complaints Policy) of Skintique Clinics Limited (Skintique Clinic, we, us or our), a company registered in England with number is 10540938 whose registered office and clinic address is at 342 Welford Road, Leicester, LE2 6EH.
We aim to provide a service that meets the needs of our patients and we strive for a
high standard of care and treatment. To this end, we welcome suggestions from patients about the safety and quality of service, treatment and care we provide.
We are committed to an effective and fair complaints system and we support a culture of openness and willingness to learn from incidents, including complaints.
As a client of Skintique Clinic, you are encouraged to:
· provide suggestions, compliments, concerns and complaints; and
· discuss any concerns about treatment and service with your treating clinician.
Anyone raising an issue with us or making a complaint will be treated with respect, sensitivity and confidentiality, and any such issue or complaint will be handled without prejudice or assumptions about how minor or serious it is. We place the emphasis on resolving your problem.
You may raise an issue or make a complaint on a confidential basis or anonymously if you wish, and we will use our reasonable endeavours to ensure that your identity is protected.
We will not discriminate against you nor apply any unjust adverse consequences as a result of you raising an issue or making a complaint about our standards of care and service.
Timing of the resolution of your complaint
We will endeavour to deal with and resolve any issue raised by you in relation to our treatments, products and services as quickly and as fairly as possible.
If we cannot resolve the issue raised at the time of service, or if you raise an issue with us in writing, we regard it as a formal complaint.
Our clinicians and other staff will refer your complaint to the Clinic Manager or (if your complaint is about the Clinic Manager), our Operations Director (the person handling the complaint being referred to as the Complaints Manager) if:
· after attempting to resolve the complaint, they do not feel confident in discussing your complaint with you; or
· the outcome you are seeking is beyond the scope of their responsibilities; or
· you or they believe the subject matter of your complaint should be brought to the attention of someone with more authority.
If your complaint is not resolved at the time of service, clinicians and other staff will provide you with a copy of this Complaints Policy.
The Complaints Manager will coordinate the resolution of your complaint in close liaison with your treating clinician and any other staff who are directly involved in the matter.
If you wish to make a complaint about our service, treatments, clinicians or other members of staff, you should detail the matter in writing and send it to the following address:
Skintique Clinic
342 Welford Road
Leicester
LE2 6EH
Formal written complaints will be acknowledged in writing or in person within 5 working days of receipt. Working days do not include Saturdays, Sundays, bank and other public holidays in the UK.
Our acknowledgment of your complaint will provide contact details for the person who is handling your complaint, how your complaint will be dealt with and how long we expect our response to your complaint will take.
We will use our reasonable endeavours to investigate your complaint and provide a resolution to it within 20 working days.
If we are unable to resolve your complaint within 20 working days, the Complaints Manager will provide you, and the clinicians and staff who are directly involved, with an update.
You will initially be provided with a timeline of events giving rise to your complaint, based on the known facts.
Upon the conclusion of an inquiry or investigation into your complaint, you and the relevant clinicians and staff will be provided with a summary of all established facts, the causal factors contributing to the incident the subject of your complaint, and any recommendations to improve our service, and the reasons for these decisions.
The Complaints Manager will carry out an investigation into your complaint to
identify what happened, the underlying causes of the complaint and any preventative strategies that can be implemented going forward. Information will be gathered by:
· talking to the clinicians and staff directly involved;
· listening to your views; and
· reviewing our records and the relevant policies, standards or guidelines.
Where an individual clinician or other staff member has been identified by you, the
matter will be investigated by the Complaints Manager, who will:
· inform the individual(s) concerned about the complaint made against them;
· ensure that no assumptions are made against such individual(s) while the investigation is being carried out; and
· ensure fairness and confidentiality is maintained during the investigation.
The therapist(s) and staff members concerned will be asked to:
· provide a factual report of the incident;
· identify any systems issues that may have contributed to the incident; and
· suggest possible preventative measures.
Where the investigation of a complaint results in findings and recommendations about
individual clinician(s) and staff members, the issues will be addressed through our staff performance and review process.