This guide will explore if you can complain to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) when you have received poor service in the health and social care sector. As you move through this guide, you will find information on the role of the CQC, how you can raise a concern to them, and how they will use the information you provide them.
A Guide On If You Can Complain To The Care Quality Commission
Additionally, this guide will explore when you could be eligible to make a compensation claim for the avoidable harm you have suffered. In the health and social care sector, patients and residents are owed a duty of care. This means they must be provided with a service of reasonable skill and care. If they fail to do so, and you experience avoidable harm as a result you could seek compensation. You can find further guidance on these later on in our guide.
Furthermore, we will explore how negligence could occur, the harm that could be experienced as a result, and the compensation that could be awarded to address the impact on your life.
Lastly, the guide will explain how expert solicitors from our panel can offer their services under No Win No Fee terms to assist you in seeking compensation.
For further guidance, please contact an advisor from our team. To reach them, you can:
- Call 0800 652 3087;
- Discuss a claim online;
- Chat with an advisor via the live chat feature below.
Jump To A Section
- Can I Complain To The Care Quality Commission (CQC)?
- Eligibility To Make A Compensation Claim For Avoidable Harm
- Examples Of Health And Social Care Negligence
- What Payout Could You Claim For Negligent Medical Or Social Care?
- When Could You Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
- Read More About If You Could Complain To The Care Quality Commission
Can I Complain To The Care Quality Commission (CQC)?
You may be wondering whether you could complain to the Care Quality Commission. The CQC is England’s independent health and social care regulator. They inspect, monitor, and regulate services and publishes their findings. Additionally, they can use their powers to take action, such as holding the care provider accountable for their failings, if they find poor care.
While the CQC cannot investigate or resolve complaints, they can use information they are given to understand the quality of care provided by services such as care homes, hospitals and GPs. As such, by raising a concern with them, it can help make care better for everyone.
You can also complain directly to the service provider. However, the process of doing so could differ depending on where you received care.
How Our Team Could Help With Your Complaint
Our team of advisors could help you with your complaint either directly to the service provider, or with raising your concern to the CQC. Additionally, they can assess whether you’re eligible to begin a compensation claim.
For further guidance, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Eligibility To Make A Compensation Claim For Avoidable Harm
A duty of care is owed in care homes, hospitals and GP surgeries. Depending on where you received the poor care that led to avoidable harm, will determine whether you make a medical negligence claim or personal injury claim. That said, in order to satisfy the compensation claim eligibility criteria, you must prove that:
- A duty of care was owed.
- This duty of care was breached.
- This breach resulted in you suffering avoidable or unnecessary harm.
Do Any Time Limits Apply?
Generally, a medical negligence or personal injury claim must be initiated within three years. There are some exceptions to this time limit, which is set out by The Limitation Act 1980.
Please speak to our advisors if you want to learn more about the time limit and any exceptions that could be made, as well as when you could be eligible to begin a compensation claim. An advisor can also provide additional guidance on the question ‘can I complain to the Care Quality Commission?’.
Examples Of Health And Social Care Negligence
Below, you can find some examples of how avoidable harm could be experienced in the health and social care sector.
- A care home is made aware that a resident is a fall risk but does not take any action to protect or look out for them. The resident then falls and fractures their arm.
- A pharmacy gives the wrong prescription to a patient who then receives too high a dosage of medication. This leads to toxicosis and organ damage.
- A hospital patient shows their nurse sores on their body, but the issue is not reported, examined or treated. The patient ends up developing sepsis in hospital and the sores leave disfiguring scars.
- A GP fails to correctly listen to a patients concerns and symptoms about a lump they have on their neck. They are later diagnosed with cancer after returning with worsened symptoms. The delayed diagnosis means the cancer has spread to the brain and lungs.
You should provide any relevant evidence to support your potential compensation claim. This can include medical records, witness contact details or pictures of any visible harm you suffered.
A solicitor from our panel can help you gather relevant evidence as part of the claims process. To learn more about the services they can offer, including whether they can help you complain to the Care Quality Commission, call our team on the number above.
What Payout Could You Claim For Negligent Medical Or Social Care?
After making a successful compensation claim, you could receive a settlement comprising of up to two heads of loss; general damages and special damages.
General damages compensates for the pain and suffering caused by the avoidable harm you suffered. When valuing this head of loss, solicitors and other legal professionals could use the figures in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG contains guideline compensation brackets, some of which you can find in the following table. Please only use these as a guide.
Compensation table
| Harm | Compensation Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bowels | Up to £150,110 | Dependence on colostomy and a total loss of natural function. |
| Bladder | Up to £140,660 | Complete function and control loss. |
| Kidney | £169,400 to £210,400 | Both kidneys are lost or are seriously and permanently damaged. |
| Digestive System - Damage From Non-Traumatic Injury (i) | £38,430 to £52,500 | Cases of severe toxicosis resulting in serious acute pain, fever, diarrhoea and vomiting, where a hospital stay is needed. |
| Arm | £6,610 to £19,200 | A simple forearm fracture. |
| Lung | £70,030 to £97,330 | Lung cancer that causes severe pain and function impairment as well as an impact on quality of life. |
Special Damages
Special damages compensate for the monetary losses you experienced as a result of the avoidable harm suffered. For example:
- Loss of earnings
- Medical expenses
- Travel costs
Financial documentation, such as receipts, payslips, and invoices, could prove any losses for which you’re seeking reimbursement.
For a free valuation of how much your compensation claim could be worth, please contact an advisor on the number above. They could offer further insight into the compensation you could receive. Additionally, they can help you understand when you could complain to the Care Quality Commission.
When Could You Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
A solicitor from our panel could offer to represent your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement. This is a form of No Win No Fee contract where you would not pay for your solicitor’s services if the case fails. You also would not pay upfront or during the case for the work your solicitor provides.
Your solicitor will take a percentage of your compensation as a success fee following a claim that completes successfully. This percentage has a legal cap applied to it by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
Our dedicated advisors are on hand and ready to answer your questions about making a claim. If you have grounds to proceed, you can be put in touch with an expert solicitor from our panel. To get started, please:
- Call 0800 652 3087;
- Talk to us about your claim online;
- Open the live chat pop-up.
Read More About If You Could Complain To The Care Quality Commission
You can find some of our other guides focusing on medical negligence claims below:
- Learn if a claim could be made after the wrong medication in a care home was given.
- A guide on calculating medical negligence compensation.
- Find the answer to, ‘could I claim compensation for NHS medication errors?’.
You may also find these sites to be of use:
- The CQC – Services regulated by the CQC
- NHS – Information on emergency care provision.
- GOV.UK – NHS Constitution for England
Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on how to complain to the Care Quality Commission. If you need any further support, please get in touch with our advisors.