Complaints Procedure

If you feel you had a particularly positive experience, we would love to hear from you. However, if you are dissatisfied with the treatment or service you have received or have a concern or complaint about any aspect of our services, we want to know about it as soon as possible.

This page will explain how you can report an issue so that we can investigate, apologise and take positive action. Our main aim is to ensure you are looked after throughout your care with us and continue to improve our services.

What you can expect from us

Our aim is to resolve complaints as quickly as possible without compromising the quality of our investigation.

• We will ensure all complaints are handled promptly, openly and thoroughly
• Our complaints procedure will be fair for both complainant and staff
• We will ensure the process is supportive and without blame, leading to improved standards of service
• We will carry out a full investigation which is focused on resolution and being open and honest with all complainants
• If a resolution cannot be reached at a local level, we will inform the complainant about how to obtain an independent review

How to report an issue, provide feedback or make a complaint

Issues can often be sorted out straightaway, if you make us aware as soon as possible. You may wish to speak to the member of staff directly; this can be face-to-face or over the telephone and in many cases, they may be able to resolve a day-to-day query immediately for you.

Alternatively, you may wish to put your comments in writing via email to our Experience and Feedback Team at experienceandfeedback@vhg.co.uk, or via post to our Head Office (Spire Healthcare Group, 3 Dorset Rise, London EC4Y 8EN). The team will ensure that your comments are passed to the relevant service and investigated by a senior colleague within that service.

Please include your full name, date of birth and home postcode in any written feedback to enable us to satisfy data protection requirements and log the feedback efficiently.

If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, please include their written consent as this will speed up the process.

How we manage complaints

Issues resolved to your satisfaction at the point of being made aware will be logged within our risk management system. This enables us to monitor the issues being raised and take any additional actions that may be indicated to improve our service to you.

For written complaints, on receipt of your email or letter we will:

• Acknowledge your complaint in writing within 3 working days
• Fully investigate the issues raised. This may involve a discussion with you
• Aim to provide a full response (written or verbal) within 20 working days of acknowledgement of your complaint. However, this time frame may vary depending on the complexity of your complaint. If the investigation is still on-going after 20 working days, we will write to explain the delay and revised completion timeframe.
• Where appropriate, our response will explain any corrective action that we will take and an explanation of any rejection of part, or all, of your complaint
• Your complaint will remain confidential, if you wish, provided this is practical.

Independent advice and help

We hope that if you have a problem, you will use our complaints procedure. We believe this provides the best chance to put right whatever has gone wrong as soon as possible and provides us with an opportunity to improve our service.

If you would prefer independent advice in the first instance, then you should consult with the person or organisation that referred you to Vita Health Group.

NHS Services

If you were referred to our NHS Service, you can consult with your GP, and you also have access to independent advice through The Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS). To search for your local PALS, please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/patient-advice-and-liaison-services-(PALS)/locationsearch/363

Corporate Services

For our Corporate services (Mental Health, Employee Assistance Programme or Physiotherapy) you could consult with your employer or insurance company. Alternatively, you could consult with the professional bodies detailed below for Private services should you prefer.

Private Services

If you self-referred into our Private services, then you have the option to discuss the matter with the relevant professional body as outlined below.

Health and Care Professionals Council (for physiotherapy services):

https://www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns/raising-concerns/

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP):

https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-us/protecting-the-public

British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP):

https://babcp.com/Raising-a-concern