Complaints Procedure – Bearsted Osteopathic Clinic

Our aim is to get you feeling your best as quickly as we can, so we certainly hope you will never need to make a complaint. However, we understand that sometimes things do not go according to plan and we welcome feedback and concerns so that we can resolve issues promptly and improve our services.

How to Make a Complaint

You may make a complaint about the care you have received, our services, or how we handle your personal information (data protection complaint) by:

We will never refuse to accept a complaint because it was not submitted through an “official” route.

If you telephone us and speak to our receptionist, please clearly state that you wish to make a complaint. The complaint will be passed to the Clinic Owner and Principal Osteopath, Keira Piper, or to the appropriate practitioner.

All complaints will be recorded confidentially and, where relevant, in your case notes.

Our Commitment to You

We will:

  • Treat your complaint seriously and respectfully.
  • Handle your complaint promptly, fairly and in confidence.
  • Keep you informed throughout the process.
  • Learn from complaints and use them to improve our services and practices.

Information We May Need

To help us investigate your complaint, we may ask for:

  • The nature of your concern.
  • Relevant dates, interactions or supporting evidence.
  • The outcome you are seeking.
  • Proof of identity, where necessary, to confirm who we are communicating with.
  • A letter of authority or power of attorney if someone is acting on another person’s behalf.

We will request this information as early as possible.

Acknowledging Your Complaint

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint as soon as possible.

For data protection complaints, we will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days. For all other complaints we aim to acknowledge your complaint as soon as possible. We will explain:

  • Who is handling your complaint.
  • The next steps in the process.
  • Expected timescales.

If the complaint is made by a child or young person, we will consider their ability to exercise their rights and adapt our communication accordingly.

Investigating Your Complaint

The Clinic Owner, Principal Osteopath, or where appropriate the practitioner involved, will investigate the complaint.

For general complaints, we aim to investigate within 21 working days.

For data protection complaints, we will:

  • Review the issues raised and relevant records.
  • Speak with staff involved where appropriate.
  • Assess whether our handling of personal information complied with the Data Use and Access Act 2025 (DUAA) and Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance.
  • Identify any risks, errors or areas for improvement.
  • Keep you updated if the investigation takes longer than expected.

Following our investigation, we may arrange a telephone discussion or invite you to the clinic to discuss the matter in person.

Our Response

We will provide a response that may include:

  • An explanation of what happened.
  • An apology where appropriate.
  • The outcome of our investigation.
  • Details of any actions we have taken or intend to take.
  • Any lessons learned or improvements identified.
  • Information about how to escalate your complaint if you remain dissatisfied.

Our aim is to deal with your complaint fairly and reach an amicable resolution wherever possible.

If You Are Not Satisfied

If you feel your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you may seek an independent review.

For osteopathy-related complaints, you can contact:

Institute of Osteopathy
Freephone: 0800 110 5857
Email: enquiries@iosteopathy.org

If you are concerned about patient safety or wish to make a formal complaint to the regulator, you can contact:

General Osteopathic Council (GOsC)
Telephone: 020 7357 6655

Please note that the General Osteopathic Council cannot award compensation.

For complaints relating to how we have handled your personal information, you may:

  • Ask us to review our decision; and/or
  • Contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Website: www.ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Recording and Learning

We maintain a confidential record of all complaints, including data protection complaints. We record:

  • The nature of the complaint.
  • The outcome and actions taken.
  • Any themes or recurring issues.

We use this information to improve our services, data protection practices, staff training and communications with patients.

Staff Responsibilities

All staff and practitioners working within Bearsted Osteopathic Clinic are expected to:

  • Recognise and appropriately handle complaints.
  • Forward complaints promptly to the Clinic Owner or Data Protection Lead where relevant.
  • Support investigations openly and promptly.
  • Complete any required training relating to complaints handling and data protection.

Important Information

This complaints procedure provides general guidance. Each practitioner at the clinic is self-employed and holds their own professional insurance. The regulatory body for each practitioner may differ depending on their profession.

Depending on the nature of the complaint, it may be appropriate for the matter to be discussed directly between the patient and the practitioner involved. In other cases, the Clinic Owner may also become involved to help resolve the matter.

Clinics Safeguarding Policy

This Policy applies to all osteopaths, associates, volunteers, students, or anyone working on behalf of Bearsted Osteopathic Clinic.

Aim:

  1. To protect children, young people, and vulnerable adults of Bearsted Osteopathic Clinic. This includes the children of parents using our service.
  2. To provide all staff with the principles that guide our safeguarding and child protection approach.

The Bearsted Osteopathic Clinic believes that a child, young person, or vulnerable adult should never experience abuse. Our responsibility is to protect the welfare of all young people, children, and vulnerable adults.

Abuse is any violation to an individual’s human rights. It can be a single act or repeated that is physical, sexual, or emotional including acts of neglect or an omission to act. All forms of abuse involve elements of emotional abuse.

We seek to keep children and vulnerable adults safe by:

  • Adopting clinical safe-guarding practices through our procedures and a code of conduct.
  • Ensuring all staff, osteopaths, associates, and volunteers of the clinic are DBS checked.
  • Recording and storing information professionally and securely and inline with GDPR.
  • Using our safeguarding procedures to communicate concerns and information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, vulnerable adults, parents and families and carers appropriately.
  • Ensuring that we have effective clinical complaints procedures.
  • Ensuring that we provide a safe clinical environment by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and up to date regulatory guidance. 

Important Points:

  • The clinic will take immediate action to ensure the safety and protection of any person.
  • The clinic associates/staff will take immediate action to inform the clinic principal (Keira Piper) of any complaint or incident and agree on the appropriate course of action.
  • Appoint an investigating officer in the event of a safeguarding complaint who must investigate and report to safeguarding authorities.
  • Safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone working at the clinic.
  • We do not assume someone else will take responsibility to report abuse. Any concerns will be raised and reported if deemed necessary. 

Contact Info:

If there is not a Safeguard Lead available, please contact Specialist Children’s Services or for vulnerable adults the Police immediately:

Kent Central Duty Team Telephone: 03000 411111

Emergency Out of Hours Telephone: 03000 419191 E-mail: social.services@kent.gov.uk

Maidstone Police Station Telephone: 01622 690690

Kent Police Child Abuse Investigation Unit: 01622 690690 (This must only be used in an emergency)