Support and further guidance

The following guidance documents can be found on our website:

KO41a complaints data items lookup and validations.

KO41a SDCS template.

How complaints with multiple aspects are treated

Where a single complaint covers several aspects of care or treatment received, the complaint should be recorded as a single complaint in the 'Total New Complaints'. However, within the subject, service, and professional areas each individual aspect that the complaint relates to needs to be recorded.

Professional area

If a complaint covers several subjects or services but just one profession, then only enter one figure within the professional area. However, if a complaint covers a range of professions, then record that complaint in each of the relevant professional fields.

Logging complaints that don’t fit into existing subject areas

If complaints don’t fit into any of the provided categories, then include it in 'other'. Details of any categories that don’t fit into the current matrix can be sent to [email protected]. Your feedback will assist in developing the system in the future and enhance the guidance.

Complaints with multiple subjects

A complaint that covers multiple subjects doesn’t have to have multiple service or professions (unless it also covered all of these subjects). In the example below the complaint should be recorded as 3 subjects but just one service area (Mental Health) and one profession (Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical).

Subject i) Communication ii) Values iii) Other
Service i) Mental Health ii) Mental Health iii) Mental Health
Profession Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical

Complaints that span multiple sites 

A single complaint cannot be recorded across multiple sites without duplicating it in the count of total complaints (if recorded as a separate complaint against each site). Therefore, it should be recorded against the primary site of complaint. Then within this one complaint it can be logged by the various subject or service areas.

Complaints that span multiple organisations

This depends on how a complaint is being investigated. Where a complaint spans several organisations, and it is being investigated by each of those organisations then they should be recorded as separate complaints by each of the organisations. However, if a complaint applies primarily to one organisation who investigates it then it is only that organisation who should record it.

Record data for sites with no ODS site code

Data for sites where there is no ODS site code should be recorded in a single total against the main trust code. For example, if a trust had 115 complaints in total and 15 at a site without an ODS site code then the return could read:

Note: We don’t require an overall trust total that sums all the complaints as NHS England generate this.

Sites should have an ODS code which can be requested from the ODS service. It is the responsibility of the OC1 administrator at each trust to request these. If this person is not known, contact ODS for further information.

Integrated care boards (ICBs)

ICB complaints returns should only generally include complaints about commissioning decisions and Out of Hours (either directly employed OOH services or services commissioned from independent providers who are not completing a return). Complaints about services provided by hospitals and other providers should be included on the KO41a of the service provider.

Out of hours and walk in centres

Complaints regarding out of hours and walk in centres should be logged as Other Community Healthcare Services [5.31].

Non-NHS organisations

Where a service is commissioned by the NHS from the private sector and that organisation does not have a complaints system the commissioner is responsible for investigating and recording complaints and should provide the information as part of their KO41a return.

If the private sector service does have a complaints procedure the private sector body should provide a KO41a return.
In summary, all complaints need to be captured on the KO41a either on the return of the commissioner or the provider.

'Informal' complaints

A complaint made verbally should be included on the return if it is recorded, and investigated and a response provided to the complainant.

This collection doesn’t use the terms 'formal' and 'informal'. What might be classed as an informal complaint (for example, a complaint made verbally) can be included on the return if it is recorded and then investigated and/or a response provided to the complainant. However, if a complaint or comment is recorded for internal purposes (and maybe classed locally as ‘informal’) but no further action or investigation is taken then it should not be included. This would be seen more as a comment or suggestion rather than a complaint.

Withdrawn complaints

If a complaint is withdrawn during the period being completed, then either remove it or log it as not upheld.

Third party consent

Data only need recording for complaints that organisations are investigating or responding to. If third party consent is not received and this means a complaint is not investigated, this should not be included.

Upheld, partially upheld and not upheld

Assess the complaint overall and judge whether most of it was upheld or partially upheld (or not upheld) and record it accordingly. Ideally each subject or service area could have a category of upheld/partially/not upheld but the current configuration of the collection does not allow this.

Transferring complaints outside of the organisation

If a referral means that the complaint is transferred outside of your organisation then you can close it and exclude it from your return.

For those that are referred within the organisation (for example, if the HR referral is part of the organisation) then this is technically still under investigation so stays there until it’s resolved.

Organisations creating the KO41 report in Datix will need to upgrade to Datix version 14.0.4 or greater. Any queries relating to Datix and upgrades should be made to the Datix support team at [email protected] 

If you have an issue with the Ulysses system, contact:

General enquiries: [email protected]
Support: [email protected]

For queries regarding the validation and submission of the return and the SDCS system, contact:  [email protected] 

Any queries about definitions of hospital and community health services complaints, or suggestions for further definitions contact: [email protected]