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How to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation

Responding Professionally, Demonstrating Insight and Protecting Your Wellbeing

  • About 2 hours estimated learning time
  • 6 sections, 16 lessons
  • Checkpoints and a 15-question final assessment
  • Online, self-paced, any device

About this course

Receiving a complaint or a letter from a regulator is one of the most stressful experiences in a healthcare career. Many professionals feel shocked, anxious or defensive, and some make decisions in the first few days that make matters worse. This course explains what to expect and how to respond: how complaints and investigations work, what the regulators expect, how to respond to a complaint, how regulatory processes unfold, how to demonstrate insight, reflection and remediation, and how to look after yourself throughout.

The course is practical rather than legal. It does not replace advice from your defence organisation, indemnity provider, trade union or a regulatory lawyer, which you should seek early in any significant process. Its companion course, How to Avoid a Complaint or Investigation, focuses on prevention.

CPD Value and How to Record It

This course is designed to provide approximately 2 hours of learning, including reading, the reflection points, the reflective account and the assessment. In the UK, CPD is generally recorded as the time actually spent learning, so you should record the time you genuinely spend, which may be more or less than the estimate.

How the course fits your revalidation or CPD requirements depends on your regulator. For example, the NMC asks nurses, midwives and nursing associates to record 35 hours of CPD over three years, of which at least 20 must be participatory; self-directed online learning such as this course usually counts as individual learning unless you complete it with others. The GMC expects doctors to reflect on CPD for appraisal and revalidation rather than setting a fixed number of hours. The HCPC, GDC, GPhC, GOC, GOsC and GCC each set their own CPD requirements, so check the current rules that apply to you. Always keep your certificate together with your written reflection.

What you will learn

  • Explain how complaints, employer investigations and regulatory processes work in the UK.
  • Describe what the regulators expect when a complaint is made.
  • Respond to a complaint promptly, honestly and constructively.
  • Understand the stages of fitness to practise processes and possible outcomes.
  • Prepare for and cooperate with investigations and hearings.
  • Demonstrate genuine insight, reflection and remediation.
  • Recognise the emotional impact of complaints and seek appropriate support.

Who it is for

All UK healthcare professionals, particularly those currently facing, or supporting colleagues through, a complaint, employer investigation or regulatory process

Standards and law covered

Regulators' standards on complaints and cooperation; GMC, NMC, HCPC, GDC and GPhC fitness to practise processes; NHS complaints arrangements; employer processes; insight, reflection and remediation

Course content

Lessons open one after another as you work through the course. They unlock once you enrol.

1Overview of Complaints and Investigations in Healthcare1 lesson
  • 1.1 Complaints and Investigations in Outline
  • 1.2 Key Points and Knowledge Check: Section 1
2The Role of Healthcare Regulators and their Standards3 lessons
  • 2.1 Overview of Healthcare Regulatory Bodies
  • 2.2 Regulatory Standards and Guidance
  • 2.3 From Complaint to Fitness to Practise: The Process
  • 2.4 Key Points and Knowledge Check: Section 2
3Dealing with Complaints2 lessons
  • 3.1 Steps to Take When a Complaint is Raised
  • 3.2 The Importance of Staying Professional and Composed
  • 3.3 Summary Points and Quiz for Section 3
4Dealing with Regulatory Inquiries and Hearings3 lessons
  • 4.1 Writing a Constructive Complaint Response
  • 4.2 Getting Ready for a Hearing
  • 4.3 Communicating and Cooperating during an Investigation
  • 4.4 Summary Points and Quiz for Section 4
5Demonstrating Insight, Reflection and Remediation3 lessons
  • 5.1 Interim Orders
  • 5.2 Reflecting in Depth and Showing It
  • 5.3 Demonstrating Remediation
  • 5.4 Summary Points and Quiz for Section 5
6Handling Stress and Emotional Impact3 lessons
  • 6.1 Building a Remediation Portfolio
  • 6.2 Looking After Yourself Through the Process
  • 6.3 Seeking Support
  • 6.4 Summary Points and Quiz for Section 6
7Conclusion and Takeaways1 lesson
  • 7.1 Bringing It Together: Key Messages
Reflection and final assessment3 steps
  • Your reflective account
  • Final assessment: 15 questions, 80% to pass
  • Certificate of completion
2 hours

Estimated learning time

This covers the lessons, section checkpoints, your reflective account and the final assessment. Everyone works at a different pace, so record the time you actually spend in your CPD log. The player shows the time you have spent in the course to help you.

Your certificate of completion

When you pass the final assessment you can download a certificate showing your name, the course title, the estimated learning time, your completion date and a certificate number that anyone can check on this website. Keep it with your reflective account in your CPD records.

Questions about this course

How long does the course take?

The estimated learning time is about 2 hours, including the lessons, section checkpoints, your reflective account and the final assessment. People work at different speeds, so record the time you actually spend in your own CPD log.

How do I access the course after buying it?

Log in to your FTP Courses account and open the course from My Courses. The course runs in your web browser on a computer, tablet or phone, and your progress is saved to your account so you can stop and continue later.

How is the course assessed?

Each section ends with a short checkpoint. At the end there is a final assessment of 15 questions; you need 80% (12 correct) to pass. If you do not pass, you can review the course and try again after a short wait.

What do I receive when I finish?

You can download a certificate of completion showing your name, the course title, the estimated learning time, your completion date and a certificate number that can be checked online. You can also download your reflective account for your CPD portfolio.

Is this course linked to my regulator?

No. FTP Courses is an independent education provider and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any UK regulator. The course is CPD-aligned: it is written to help you learn and reflect against your regulator's published standards, and on completion you receive a certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time. Record the time you actually spend in your own CPD log, and decide how the course fits your CPD or any remediation plan, ideally with advice from your defence organisation, union or legal adviser.

Will completing the course guarantee a particular outcome in a complaint or investigation?

No course can guarantee an outcome. Decision-makers look at genuine insight, reflection and sustained change in your practice. The course is designed to support that learning; it does not replace it.