Complaints Log
Complaints & feedbackAll services
Record each complaint and concern, spoken or written, on the day it arrives, with a reference number, the response and what you learned.
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Description
What is a complaints log?
A complaints log is a single register of all complaints and concerns your service receives, spoken or written, with what you did about each one. Record them on the day they arrive. That includes small ones you sorted out straight away, because a complaint resolved on the spot is still a complaint and belongs in the log.
The log is written for care homes, home care and supported living services.
Why CQC cares about your complaints log
Regulation 16 says complaints must be investigated and acted on. CQC can also ask for a summary of the complaints you have received and your responses, and you must send it within 28 days, counting from the day after the request. The log helps you meet both duties.
Filling in the log
Give each complaint a unique reference number and use it on all letters and notes. The log then has two parts.
Part A is filled in when the complaint comes in. It records the date, who took it, the complainant and their link to the person, how it arrived, a summary, the outcome they want and the date you acknowledged it. Three tick boxes flag whether the complaint also needs:
A safeguarding referral
Action under the duty of candour
A notification to CQC
Part B fills up as the investigation goes on. It shows who investigated, when the response went out, whether the complaint was upheld, partly upheld or not upheld, what action you took, how you shared the learning and the date it closed. If the complainant takes it to the council or the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, note that too.
Keep full investigation notes and letters in the complaint file, not in the log. Store the log securely so only staff who need it can see it, and follow your data protection policy on how long to keep it.
The monthly review
The Registered Manager reviews the log once a month, looking for themes, delays and repeat issues. Numbers received, upheld and answered on time go in a table, and agreed actions feed into your service improvement plan.
Before you start, add your own reference format and response timescales, and keep one log for each location.
The log sits alongside your Complaints Policy & Procedure, which sets the process staff follow. Complaints that reveal harm may need the Duty of Candour Policy & Procedure, and the monthly review feeds the Governance & Quality Assurance Policy.
