Comments Policy (Care Survey)

YourCareHome has a number of areas where you can contribute to the site. You can comment on almost any service featured on our site, including care homes and home care agencies, and rate them – we welcome feedback, whether you, a friend or a family member are receiving care or even if you were just visiting.

Contributions to this website may be moderated, that is, checked to make sure they don’t break our rules. You will need to keep your contributions constructive, relevant and civil. The following rules and guidelines are to protect both you and us, and our moderators will remove contributions that break the rules.

Commenting on our services including care homes and home care.
The service you receive from your care provider will never be adversely affected by your feedback on care services left on this site and you can comment anonymously if you wish. You should respect the anonymity of other residents and staff at the service you are commenting on by not using their names.
The “care survey” feature for each care home and home care agency in England is there for you to comment on your, or a friend’s or family member’s care. This is not a formal complaint procedure. YourCareHome and the service providers are not obliged to read the comments, though many do. If you want a reply to your feedback you should contact the provider directly.
Giving your feedback on a care service does not require registration with YourCareHome but you will need to provide an email address so that we can contact you if there are any problems.
Feedback should be made via the “care survey” on each care service's page. Our survey is not suitable for making general political points about care services. Feedback from members of staff will not be accepted. Ratings and comments must be about events within the past 2 years. Once a previously accepted comment is more than 2 years old, we indicate this next to the comment and remove any ratings from the service's overall rating score.

Complaining about another person’s comment.
If you think that someone’s contribution to the website breaks our rules you can alert one of our moderators by clicking the links provided to report a comment. Reporting a comment will not automatically remove it but will ensure we look at it as soon as possible. The moderators will then decide whether to remove it.

Relevance, civility and decency
Relevance: comments must be relevant to the page they are to appear on.
Be civil: please ensure that your contributions are respectful of others. We will remove contributions that are unlawful, harassing, abusive, threatening, obscene, sexually suggestive, racist, homophobic or sexist or that incite or promote hatred of any group or individual. 
Writing in capitals: do not write in capital letters – on the internet this is regarded as “shouting” and many people are offended by it. 
Be informative: ensure that your comment has enough information to describe your experience, and provide enough information to assist someone else in making decisions about the service. 
Abusive language: comments containing swearing will be removed. People of all ages use the YourCareHome website and language should be suitable for them. 
English: all comments on the website must be made in English. Comments in other languages will be removed. 
Stereotypes: comments that stereotype sections of society will be removed. 
Multiple posts: duplicate comments or repeats will be removed.

Privacy and confidentiality
Whether you are speaking for yourself or on behalf of another person – if for example you are a carer or parent – do not name the individuals you are talking about. If you are making a comment on another person’s behalf, it is best instead to talk of ”my husband” “my uncle” and so on to protect their privacy.
Personal information: to protect your privacy any information you contribute that reveals personal information, such as phone numbers, email addresses, addresses and so on will be removed. Any attempts to use the site to exchange personal information or arrange meetings with another user will also be removed.

Screenamed, nicknames and impersonation.
Screen names used on YourCareHome are moderated. When selecting a screen name make sure you choose one that is not rude, offensive or aimed at impersonating another person.
Naming businesses: Please avoid naming businesses or commercial services in your comment. 
Under 16s: We ask that people under 16 get permission from a parent or guardian before posting on YourCareHome.

Health Advice, medical products and commercial activity.
Comments that glamorise smoking, drug use or drinking or that promote a poor moral example will be removed.
Asking for and giving specific medical advice will not be permitted.
Comments deemed to be advertising or promoting any product or service will be removed.

Legal issues, criminal activity or negligence

Current court cases and court injunctions: contempt of court rules mean you cannot make comments that could prejudice the outcome of a court case or General Medical Council hearing. Comments on something that subsequently becomes the subject of a court case or hearing will also be removed if they risk contempt of court. Contributions that break a court injunction will be removed.

Clinical negligence or criminal activity: specific accusations of clinical negligence in which an individual is identified will not be published. If you have a serious allegation of clinical negligence by a particular individual please visit the NHS website and use their Complaints procedure. Accusations of specific criminal activity will not be published. If you believe that criminal activity is or has taken place involving any of the care providers on our website please contact the police directly.
Defamation: defamation may occur when someone makes an untrue statement which damages a person's reputation or someone makes a statement which expresses an opinion which they do not sincerely hold.
Disclaimer: this definition is not to be regarded as a statement of the law nor should it be relied upon to make any judgment as to whether content is potentially defamatory. It is up to you to decide whether to take specific legal advice.
Threats: comments containing threats of public fear, terrorism or threats towards any individual are not permitted. 
Copyright: ensure that you own the copyright to any material you put on the site - especially if you have copied it from another source. If we are in doubt about the ownership of content we will remove it from the site.

Further information.

Privacy: When you make a comment you will be asked to provide an email address. Your details will only be used to contact you about services you have expressed an interest in or to contact you about your comment should there be any concern about it. YourCareHome will not pass on your details to any other party and complies with the 1998 data protection act. 
Copyright of your contributions: Your contributions to the YourCareHome website are published and viewable to the general public. In submitting your comments you assign all rights to YourCareHome for use and publication of your contribution (further information can be found in terms and conditions). If you are unwilling to grant YourCareHome copyright to your contribution you should not submit it to the site.
Action we may take: A breach of any of our rules can lead to your comment being rejected. Repeated or serious breaches of our rules may lead to YourCareHome blocking contributions from your email address. YourCareHome reserves the right to delete any content at any time for any reason and is under no obligation to publish any contributions. YourCareHome reserves the right to alter or update the house rules or terms and conditions at any time.
 

YourCareHome Ltd., Company Number: 6510085

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