Making a Complaint or Raising an Issue of Concern – JCCP Guidelines

JCCP Complaints Policy

Please forward all complaints, using the forms below, to complaints@jccp.org.uk.  You will receive an acknowledgment within 3 working days.

 

In order to make a complaint about an Education or Training Provider please fill in this form and email it to complaints@JCCP.org.uk complaints form

 

Guidance

 

It is often stressful to raise a concern or to complain -  this guidance is designed to help you avoid that.

 

We at JCCP assess and monitor people who offer aesthetic treatments (aesthetic practitioners) to ensure they are appropriately qualified, experienced and trained to practice safely.  Aesthetic practitioners who are accepted on the JCCP Register (called Registrants) agree to respect and to practice in accordance with the JCCP/CPSA Code of Practice that focuses on patient safety and public protection as a priority and which places the needs of patients/clients first.  Both the JCCP and  our Registrants are frank and open about what they do and have a duty of candour to  respect and to respond to your concerns. If you or any patient/client believe you have not been well treated, it is best that you say so.  That way the problem can be reviewed and considered with the aim of resolving the issues raised for you (and with you) and in the process we will all learn how to improve our services in order to do better in the future.

 

It is natural that you might feel worried about raising a concern.  We at the JCCP understand this and will take your concerns seriously, look into what you say and provide you with the support, advice and guidance to raise your concern. The JCCP will not tolerate the harassement or victimisation of anyone raising a concern, nor will we tolerate any attempt to dissuade you from raising a concern.  Such behaviour would be a breach of our values as an organisation and, if your concern/complaint is upheld following investigation, this could result in disciplinary action being taken by the JCCP's Fitness to Practise team against the Registrant concerned.

 

Raising a concern is seen  by us at the JCCP and by our Registrants as a positive and helpful thing to do. Neither will try to stop or discourage you to raise your concern.  Whatever the result of your complaint , there will never be a backlash or reprisal.  More likely there will be thanks for assisting us to improve service user experience and the quality of the services provided to members of the public within the aesthetic sector.

 

The JCCP does not register all persons who hold themselves out to be a practitioner in aesthetics. Whether or not the person is JCCP registered, you can still tell us at the JCCP about your concern which will be heard and action taken where we can.

 

JCCP Registrants

 

All JCCP Registrants abide by a Code of Practice that requires them to explain to you what to do if you are concerned about your treatment and patient/client experience. You can check if the person you are concerned about is one of the JCCP’s Registrants by clicking here to search our practitioner register. The JCCP also places a responsibility on all Registrants to ensure that they are open and honest when things go wrong during the exercise of their duty of care for patients/service users and during their treatment process. Such responsibilities and expectations are set down in the JCCP/CPSA Code of Practice.

 

All JCCP Practitioner Registrants are required to have a ‘Complaints Procedure’ in place. If you have a concern, ask to see your Practitioner’s Complaints Procedure. Read it, and decide what to do next.  Discuss it with your Practitioner.  Most often, your concern can be sorted out there and then. If you and your Practitioner cannot agree, there are ways to resolve your complaint. The choice of which depends on the Practitioner’s  type of practice.

1. If your Registrant works in aesthetics as an individual, they may belong to the Cosmetic Redress Scheme. This scheme provides an independent arbitration service to deal with complaints and breaches of consumer legislation such as perceived unfair treatment by the registrant to the complainant.
2. If the Registrant works in a large cosmetic chain such as, for example ‘Sk:n’  or ‘Transform’, then the clinic will offer you access to its internal processes initially and then to the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) if they are unable to solve your complaint.  A completely independent person (mediator or adjudicator) will assess the evidence and make an adjudication or mediation which is binding upon both you and the provider
3. If the Registrant does not offer you a way to make your complaint, or you prefer to come direct, then feel free to raise your concern with the JCCP.  Using the complaints form above.

 

Who can raise concerns?

As well as patients/clients who have received aesthetic treatments any member of the public, and anyone who works (or has worked) in the non-surgical cosmetic or hair restoration surgery sector can raise concerns; this includes contractors, product manufacturers, insurers, pharmacists, education and training providers and any other interested party.

 

What concerns can I raise?

You can raise a concern about any risk, malpractice or wrongdoing you think may harm patients/clients.

Just a few examples might include (but are by no means restricted to):

• unsafe patient/client care or treatment experience
• unsafe working/premises standards
• inadequate induction or training for practitioners
• lack of, or poor response to a reported patient safety incident
• breaches of equality standards
• matters relating to inappropriate advertising of services or educational provision
• unacceptable experiences relating to dignity and respect
• breaches in information governance or data sharing/confidentiality

The JCCP Chief Executive and Registrar will determine if it is an appropriate matter to be dealt with by the JCCP.

 

What to expect after you lodge a concern with your Registrant.

 

You should receive a written acknowledgement of your complaint within 3  working days.

You should expect to obtain agreement with your Registrant within 20 working days or if not receive an update every 20 days.  Or, if you cannot agree, your complaint should go to the  Cosmetic Redress Scheme or the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) as appropriate and providing the Practitioner subscribes.

 

What to expect if your complaint goes to Cosmetic Redress Scheme or  ISCAS .

 

You will receive acknowledgement within 3 working days.

 

Confidentiality

 

We hope you will feel comfortable raising your concern openly, but we also appreciate you may want to raise the matter confidentially. This means that while you are willing for your identity to be known to the JCCP, you do not want anyone else to know your identity. Therefore, we will keep your identity confidential, if that is what you want, unless required to disclose it by law (for example, by the police). You can of course choose to raise your concern anonymously, without disclosing your name, but that will make it difficult for us to investigate thoroughly and to provide you with feedback on the outcome of any investigations.

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These guidelines are written in support of the JCCP values and mission.

Implementation March 2020

Review March 2021