Review Policy

1. Purpose

CareGist allows users to submit reviews of CQC-registered care providers. Reviews help families and professionals make informed care decisions. This policy explains how we moderate reviews, what content is acceptable, and how providers and reviewers can raise concerns.

2. Who can leave a review

Reviews should be submitted by people with direct experience of a care provider, including:

• Current or former residents
• Family members or carers of current or former residents
• Healthcare professionals who have worked with the provider
• People who have received care or services from the provider

We ask reviewers to declare their relationship to the provider (e.g., "family member", "former resident", "visiting professional"). This is displayed alongside the review.

3. What we accept

Reviews must be:

• Genuine — based on real experience with the named provider
• Honest — an accurate reflection of your experience, whether positive or negative
• Relevant — about the care, service, or facilities at the provider
• Respectful — critical opinions are welcome, but personal attacks are not

Both positive and negative reviews are published, provided they meet these criteria. We do not filter reviews to favour providers.

4. What we reject

We will not publish reviews that:

• Are defamatory — contain false statements of fact that could damage a provider's reputation. Opinions are protected; false claims of criminal behaviour are not.
• Name individuals — identify specific staff members, residents, or family members by full name (first names only are acceptable where relevant to the review)
• Contain personal data — include phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, or other identifying information of third parties
• Are abusive or threatening — contain hate speech, threats of violence, or discriminatory language
• Are fake or incentivised — submitted by the provider about themselves, by competitors to harm a rival, or in exchange for payment or other incentives
• Are off-topic — not related to the care, service, or facilities at the provider
• Contain spam or advertising — promote products, services, or other websites
• Relate to ongoing legal proceedings — could prejudice active court cases or investigations

5. Moderation process

All reviews are moderated before publication:

1. Submission — reviewer submits the review with their name, email, rating (1-5 stars), title, body, and relationship to the provider
2. Queue — the review enters a moderation queue with status "pending"
3. Review — a CareGist moderator reads the review against this policy
4. Decision — the review is either approved (published), edited (see section 8), or rejected (with reason noted internally)
5. Publication — approved reviews are displayed on the provider's listing page with the reviewer's display name, rating, relationship, and date

We aim to moderate reviews within 3 working days. During busy periods this may take up to 5 working days. We do not notify reviewers individually when their review is published.

6. Moderation discretion

CareGist reserves the right to approve, reject, edit, or remove any review at our sole discretion where we believe it violates this policy, poses legal risk, or cannot be verified as a genuine review. We are not obligated to publish any review and are not required to provide reasons for rejection.

7. Evidence of experience

Where a review contains serious allegations or factual claims, we may request additional information from the reviewer to confirm that they have had a genuine experience with the provider. This may include approximate dates of care, the type of service received, or other verifiable details.

If sufficient information cannot be provided within 10 working days of our request, we may decline to publish the review.

8. Editing reviews

We may edit reviews to remove personal data (such as full names of individuals), defamatory statements, or inappropriate language while preserving the overall meaning and opinion expressed by the reviewer. Where we make material edits, we will note that the review has been edited.

We will not change the rating (star score) or alter the substance of a reviewer's opinion.

9. Defamation and legal concerns

We take defamation seriously. Under the Defamation Act 2013 (England and Wales), CareGist benefits from the defence available to operators of websites under Section 5, provided we respond appropriately to complaints about defamatory content.

9.1 If you are a care provider

If you believe a review is defamatory or factually inaccurate:

1. Email reviews@caregist.co.uk with the provider name, the review in question, and a clear explanation of which statements you believe are false and why
2. We will review your complaint within 5 working days
3. If the review contains statements of fact that appear to be false, we will remove or edit the review
4. If the review expresses a genuinely held opinion, we may leave it published but offer you the opportunity to post a public response
5. In cases of serious defamation, we will cooperate with legal proceedings and may disclose the reviewer's email address under court order

9.2 If you are a reviewer

You are legally responsible for the content of your review. Expressing a genuine opinion based on real experience is protected. Making false statements of fact that damage a provider's reputation may expose you to a defamation claim. If in doubt, focus on describing your experience rather than making allegations.

10. Provider responses

Care providers who have claimed their listing on CareGist may submit a public response to any review. Provider responses are subject to the same moderation standards as reviews. Responses must be professional, factual, and must not identify residents or disclose confidential information.

Where possible, we will notify a provider when a new review is published about them and offer them the opportunity to respond. Provider responses are usually published within 3 working days of submission.

11. Removal requests

• Reviewers may request removal of their own review at any time by emailing reviews@caregist.co.uk
• Providers may request removal of a review they believe violates this policy, following the process in section 9.1
• Third parties named in a review may request removal of their personal data under UK GDPR Article 17 (right to erasure)

12. Responsibility for reviews

Reviews are the opinions of individual users and do not represent the views of CareGist. CareGist does not endorse and is not responsible for the content, accuracy, or completeness of user reviews. Users are solely responsible for the content they submit.

13. Reviewer identity

Reviews are displayed using the name provided by the reviewer. Reviewers may use their first name only if they prefer. We do not publish email addresses. Your email is used only for moderation correspondence and will not be shared publicly unless required by court order.

14. Aggregate ratings

Provider listings display an average star rating calculated from all approved reviews. This is separate from the CQC inspection rating. We clearly label these as "User reviews" to distinguish them from official CQC ratings.

A minimum of 1 approved review is required before an average rating is displayed. We do not weight, filter, or algorithmically adjust review scores.

15. Safeguarding

If a review raises safeguarding concerns about a care provider (e.g., allegations of abuse, neglect, or unsafe conditions), we will:

• Not publish the review until we have assessed the content
• Direct the reviewer to report their concerns directly to CQC (03000 616161 or cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care) and, if appropriate, to the local authority safeguarding team
• Consider whether the review content is appropriate for publication after the reviewer has reported to the relevant authorities

CareGist is a directory service. We are not a regulatory body and cannot investigate allegations of poor care. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.

16. Contact

For questions about reviews, moderation, or to report a concern: reviews@caregist.co.uk