Complaints procedure for health and social care: what the rules require, with a free template

Regulation 16 applies to every provider CQC registers. It has three parts:

1. Investigate and act. “Any complaint received must be investigated and necessary and proportionate action must be taken in response to any failure identified by the complaint or investigation.”
2. Run a system that works. You must “establish and operate effectively an accessible system for identifying, receiving, recording, handling and responding to complaints”.
3. Tell CQC when asked. Send CQC a summary of your complaints, your responses and any further correspondence within 28 days, starting the day after you receive the request. CQC can prosecute if you don’t, without first serving a Warning Notice.

CQC’s guidance, which providers must have regard to, spells out what that means in practice:

• People can complain to any member of staff, spoken or written, and every complaint should be acknowledged unless it’s anonymous.
• How to complain must be easy to find, in the languages and formats people need, with support such as advocates or interpreters.
• Nobody’s care can suffer because they, or someone for them, complained.
• Anonymous complaints still go through the process as far as possible.
• Each complaint starts with a review of the level of investigation and any immediate action, including referral to the right authorities.
• Investigations look for what caused the complaint and what will stop it happening again, and the people doing them need the right knowledge and skills.
• The person who complained, and anyone complained about, are kept informed and told what changed.
• You keep a record of every complaint, its outcome and the action taken, and the reason when no action was taken.
• You look at complaints over time for trends and risks, and review the process itself.
• A complaint about care that led to a notifiable safety incident also triggers the duty of candour.

CQC’s quality statement on listening to and involving people (Responsive) reads: “We make it easy for people to share feedback and ideas or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. We involve them in decisions about their care and tell them what’s changed as a result.” Under Safe, its learning culture statement expects “lessons are learned from safety incidents or complaints, resulting in changes that improve care for others”.

CQC plans to replace the quality statements with key lines of enquiry in new frameworks for each sector. At its update of 27 August 2026 those frameworks were still drafts being tested, so the statements above still apply.

1. Accept complaints in any form. A complaint can be made “orally, in writing or electronically”. Write spoken complaints down and give the person a copy of the record.
2. Settle simple complaints quickly. A spoken complaint resolved to the person’s satisfaction by the next working day needn’t go through the full NHS procedure. The ombudsman’s toolkit has a short form to record it, with the outcome and any action.
3. Acknowledge within 3 working days. The acknowledgement can be spoken or written. At the same time, offer to discuss how you’ll handle the complaint and how long the investigation and response are likely to take. If they don’t want to discuss it, set the period yourself and tell them in writing.
4. Investigate and keep them informed. Decide the level of investigation and any immediate action first. Investigate “speedily and efficiently”, look for what caused the problem, and keep the person updated as far as you reasonably can.
5. Send a written response. Explain how you considered the complaint, what you concluded, whether the action needed has been taken or is planned, and how to take the complaint to the ombudsman. The responsible person signs it. The ombudsman’s model procedure adds “a meaningful apology for any failings”.
6. Tell them if it will take longer. If you can’t send the response within 6 months of receiving the complaint, or a longer period you’ve both agreed, write to say so and explain why.
7. Record it and learn from it. Log each complaint, its subject and outcome, and whether you met the agreed timescale. Review complaints together for trends, and take the learning “regardless of whether mistakes are found or not”, as the ombudsman puts it.

NHS England says there’s no set timeframe for the final response: it depends on the complaint. Private providers that subscribe to ISCAS work to tighter times: an acknowledgement within 3 working days, a full response within 20 working days or an update at least every 20 working days, and each stage done within three months.

A log kept this way also gives you the summary CQC can ask for within 28 days, and shows the trends CQC expects you to look for.

• Wales. NHS concerns raised after 31 March 2026 follow Listening to People, which replaced Putting Things Right: an acknowledgement within 5 working days, and early resolution within 10 working days of it.
• Scotland. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s model complaints handling procedure has two stages: a frontline response within five working days, and an investigation of 20 working days. Every complaint is recorded.
• Northern Ireland. Since 1 January 2026, health and social care organisations follow the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman’s model procedure: early resolution usually within 5 working days, and a full response within 20 working days.