CQC has made changes to Mental Health Act complaints process

12 May 2020 10:46 AM

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis we have made changes to the way we respond to people contacting us with a complaint about the Mental Health Act.

CQC takes individual complaints for people that are detained or have been detained under the Mental Health Act, in addition to our inspection activity.

To ensure that our monitoring work is focused on protecting the human rights of the most vulnerable people, we are prioritising contacts received from or about people who are currently detained on an inpatient ward in hospital. Our aim is to identify ways to help support people through our Mental Health Act monitoring, resulting in a quicker resolution to their complaint or concern.

All other Mental Health Act complaints – new or existing – will be reviewed, but may be paused during the coronavirus outbreak. However, as usual this information will still be shared with our inspection teams as part of our regulatory and monitoring work.

Complaints relating to the Mental Health Act can be made by anyone – patients, family and carers, staff or any member of the public. As our offices are currently closed, anyone wanting to make a complaint should do so by calling us on 03000 616161 - press ‘1’ to speak to the mental health team or by emailing enquiries@cqc.org.uk