Complaints procedure
How to complain about us, who will look at it, how long it will take, and where you can go if you are still not satisfied — plus the right routes for complaining about a care home, the NHS or a council.
How we deal with complaints
Families come to us at difficult moments, often after being let down somewhere else. If we get something wrong we want to know quickly, put it right, and change how we work so it does not happen again.
You will not be treated any differently for complaining, you will not be charged for complaining, and you do not need to use any particular form of words. Telling us plainly what happened and what you would like us to do about it is enough.
Complaints are dealt with by our Complaints Lead. If your complaint is about the Complaints Lead, it will be dealt with by a director instead, so that the person you are complaining about is never the person deciding the outcome.
- What happened, and roughly when
- Who you dealt with
- What you expected to happen instead
- What you would like us to do to put it right
- The best way and time to contact you
How to complain
What happens next
Straight away — we try to sort it out
Many things can be fixed the same day. If we can put it right on the spot, we will, and we will confirm in writing what we agreed.
Within 3 working days — acknowledgement
If it cannot be fixed immediately we will write to you within 3 working days to confirm we have received your complaint, tell you who is handling it, and set out what we will do.
Within 20 working days — full written response (Stage 1)
We will look at the file, at any emails and notes, and speak to anyone involved. You will then get a full written response setting out what we found, whether we accept that something went wrong, what we are doing about it, and any refund or other remedy we are offering. If we need longer than 20 working days we will tell you why and give you a new date — we will not let it drift.
If you are not satisfied — review (Stage 2)
Write to us again within 28 days of our response and say why you are not satisfied. The complaint will be reviewed by whichever of us has not been involved so far. We aim to respond to a Stage 2 review within a further 20 working days. That completes our internal process.
If you are still not happy with us
You do not have to accept our answer. Depending on what the complaint is about:
- How we handled your personal information — you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, helpline 0303 123 1113, ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. You can do this at any time, and you do not have to come to us first
- A consumer contract issue — you can get free, impartial advice from Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133, or from your local Trading Standards service
- The professional conduct of a registered nurse — our nurses maintain registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and you can raise a concern with the NMC directly at nmc.org.uk
- Anything unresolved — you can of course take independent legal advice, or use mediation. We will engage with a reasonable mediation request
We are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and we do not carry out reserved legal activities, so the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Legal Ombudsman cannot consider a complaint about us.
- A care provider — use their own complaints procedure first; concerns about safety or quality can also go to the Care Quality Commission
- NHS care or a discharge — complain to the provider or to the Integrated Care Board, then to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
- A council’s social care or financial assessment — use the council’s complaints procedure, then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
- An NHS Continuing Healthcare decision — ask the Integrated Care Board for a local review, then NHS England independent review
Complaining about care: which route?
Four questions about a complaint regarding someone’s care — a provider, a council or the NHS. Complaints about us are covered above. No email, nothing stored.
A few practical points
Can I complain on behalf of someone else
Yes. If you hold a lasting power of attorney or deputyship, or the person has agreed, tell us and we will deal with you. If the person lacks capacity and there is no attorney, we will still look into the complaint and act in their best interests.
Can I complain anonymously
You can raise a concern anonymously and we will look into it, but we will not be able to write back to you or offer you a remedy, so we would rather you gave us your name.
Is there a time limit
Please raise a complaint within 12 months of what happened, or of realising there was a problem. We will still look at older complaints where we reasonably can.
What do you do with complaints afterwards
We keep a written record of every complaint, what we found and what we changed, and we review them together at least twice a year. Complaint records are kept for 6 years, as explained in our privacy notice.
Will complaining affect the help I am getting
No. If you are part-way through a piece of work we will carry on doing it properly while the complaint is looked at.
Something not right? Tell us.
A complaint is information. We would far rather have it than not.
Last reviewed: February 2026. Complaints are handled by our Complaints Lead. MCB-HUB Ltd, company number 13962703.