Introduction

The Children’s Wellness Centre and Adults’ Wellness Centre are committed to providing high-quality services that meet the needs of all individuals accessing our services. We continually strive to maintain and improve the standards of care we provide and welcome feedback from service users, parents, carers and other representatives.

If for any reason you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service, we encourage you to let us know so that concerns can be addressed promptly, fairly and appropriately.

Throughout the complaints process, we are committed to maintaining confidentiality and protecting privacy in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Information relating to a complaint will only be shared with those individuals and organisations directly involved in investigating and resolving the matter.

Where possible, complaints will be dealt with through early resolution and using internal resources.

Clinical Practitioners

The Clinic works with a team of self-employed Clinical Practitioners, all of whom hold appropriate professional indemnity insurance and maintain registration with their relevant professional bodies, including, but not limited to:

• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
• British Psychological Society (BPS)

Complaints Procedure

1. Raising Concerns with Your Clinical Practitioner

If you are unhappy with the service you have received from a Clinical Practitioner, we encourage you, where appropriate, to discuss your concerns directly with them in the first instance. We aim to resolve concerns informally and at an early stage wherever possible.

2. Escalating a Complaint

We understand that in some situations speaking directly with your Clinical Practitioner may not be appropriate, or that concerns may remain unresolved following discussion.

In these circumstances, please submit your complaint in writing to:

tammy@childrenswellnesscentre.co.uk 

We aim to acknowledge and respond to complaints as promptly as possible and no later than 10 working days. Where this is not possible, you will be informed of the reason for the delay and provided with an update on the action being taken.

Complaints will be investigated fairly and thoroughly, and every effort will be made to reach a satisfactory resolution. Where a full response cannot be provided within the stated timescale, an interim response will be issued outlining the progress of the investigation.

3. Outcome of the Complaint

The outcome of the complaint will be communicated to you in writing and will include:

• Details of how the complaint was investigated.
• The findings and outcome.
• Any actions taken or planned to reduce the likelihood of recurrence and improve service quality.

4. Escalating to Professional Bodies

If you remain dissatisfied following our response, you may raise your concerns directly with the relevant professional or regulatory body.

Examples include:

• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) – www.hcpc-uk.org
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) – www.bacp.co.uk
• British Psychological Society (BPS) – www.bps.org.uk

To make a complaint to a professional body, you may require the Clinical Practitioner’s registration number. This can be obtained from The Clinic or by searching the relevant professional register using the practitioner’s name and profession.

5. Complaints Regarding Administrative and Management Staff

If your complaint relates to a member of the administrative, reception, coordination or management team, please submit your concerns in writing to:

tammy@childrenswellnesscentre.co.uk or tammy@adultswellnesscentre.co.uk

These complaints will be investigated in accordance with the Company’s Disciplinary Policy and relevant employment procedures.

Learning from Complaints

The Clinic recognises complaints as an important source of feedback and an opportunity to improve the quality and safety of our services. Where appropriate, learning points arising from complaints will be shared with relevant staff and practitioners and incorporated into service development.