General Information

Our commitment

Good quality complaint handling is vital to ensuring continuous improvement in the quality and safety of care offered by our Occupational Health Service. The OHS team have a positive approach to receiving complaints, and we welcome all feedback.  If you are unhappy with or wish to make a comment about any aspect of the service, we want to understand how we can improve.

• We will ensure that complaints are resolved fairly, confidentially, and impartially, and are dealt with in a timely and non-judgemental manner.
• We will ensure that we listen to your concerns and/or complaints to fully understand what went wrong and how we can learn to improve the experience of all our users.
• We will be open and transparent, logical and rational in our response and carry out an investigation as quickly as possible.  We will keep you informed about the progress of the investigation.

Confidentiality

Occupational Health will not share details of a complaint made by a student or member of staff without their permission to do so – although general outcomes and lessons learnt will be shared with Queen’s OHS Contract Management Group for service improvement purposes.

While the complaint must be made to the BHSCT as the service provider, staff and students are welcome to also make their HRBP, Line Manager, Lecturer or the QUB OH Liaison Officer aware of the issue, should they wish to do so.  However please note that this will be for information purposes only, and the investigation into the complaint will remain with the BHSCT.

Any written correspondence relating to your complaint will be held separately from your Occupational Health confidential medical record. You will be treated fairly and respectfully throughout the process.  Ultimately we want you to use our service with confidence in the future.

There are two stages, however, a complaint may be made at either stage, where an early resolution is not possible, or if an informal complaint is not suitable due to the nature or seriousness of the complaint.

Stage 1: Informal Complaint

Where possible any concerns and complaints will be dealt with on an informal basis.  Generally, informal complaints do not receive a comprehensive investigation.

We want to ensure that any concerns and/or complaints are resolved at the earliest possible opportunity and at a local level.  If you feel able to, we would encourage you to address your concerns directly with the relevant Occupational Health staff member.  This approach enables you to discuss your concern directly with the relevant OHS staff member.

However, if you prefer not to contact the relevant staff member directly, or if you have any remaining concerns about the issue, please follow the procedure below to raise an informal complaint.

• How do I raise an Informal concern or complaint?
  • To lodge an informal complaint, please email Occupational Health (occhealth@qub.ac.uk) as soon as possible and ideally within 10 working days of the incident.

• What information do I need to include in my initial contact?
  • Please provide your name and contact details, and include in the subject line the text ‘complaint and/or concern’.  Please provide a summary of your concern.  You do not need to include substantial details of the complaint at this stage

• How quickly will my informal concern or complaint be dealt with?
  • OH will acknowledge your email within 2 working days of you raising the concern or complaint.  Informal complaints are normally dealt with within 1-2 weeks.

• Who will deal with my Informal concern or complaint?
  • The Occupational Health Lead Nurse or their Deputy will contact you to understand the issue more fully.  They will inform you how it will be dealt with, including relevant timeframes. 

• How will I find out about the outcome?
  • The Occupational Health Lead Nurse or their Deputy will have confirmed your preference about providing feedback to you either via a telephone call, meeting or email correspondence.

If you remain unhappy with the outcome of the informal process, a Formal Complaint process will be instigated (Stage 2).

Stage 2: Formal Complaint

If you remain unhappy with the outcome of the informal process, or if your complaint is of a particularly serious or complex nature, the issue may be escalated to a Formal Complaint.

• How do I raise a formal concern or complaint?
  • If you wish to make a formal complaint, you will need to submit this in writing to the Contract Manager in the BHSCT:

QUB Occupational Health Contract Manager, 2^nd Floor, McKinney House, Musgrave Park Hospital, Stockman’s Lane, BT9 7JB
Please include the information below. 

• • The name of the individual who provided the service.
  • Describe what happened and include dates. List what you think went wrong, or wasn’t done properly, and describe the impact this has had on you or others.
  • Include details of any previous informal complaint, if applicable.
  • If possible, describe what you think the Occupational Health Service should do to put things right.
•  
• Who will investigate my formal complaint?
  • The investigation may involve interviewing relevant parties and gathering information.  This will be conducted by the BHSCT Contract Manager.

• How quickly will my formal complaint be dealt with?
  • The BHSCT Contract Manager will acknowledge your email within 2 working days of you raising the complaint.  You will receive a written response from the BHSCT Contract Manager detailing the findings of the investigation within 20 working days from receipt of your complaint.  If for any reason the investigation is taking longer than 20 days, you will be contacted with an update and explanation.

Review/Appeal

If upon receipt of the investigation outcome you still have concerns, this will be escalated to the BHSCT Complaints Department.

The OHS team aims to provide a professional and quality-focused service to staff and students, and all feedback is welcomed. 

Please take a few minutes to provide feedback at the relevant link below.

To give feedback relating to a face-to-face appointment: Face to Face appointment feedback.

To give feedback relating to a telephone appointment: Telephone appointment feedback.