Date Last Reviewed / June 2014
Date of Next Review / June 2017
Author / Michelle Kabia
MANAGING COMPLAINTS POLICY AND PROCEDURE
A INTRODUCTION
This procedure is principally concerned with complaints made against Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham staff, trusteesor volunteers.
Disputes between service users will generally be covered by one or more of the policiesin place for individual Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham projects. However, there will be occasions when it will beappropriate to use this procedure to provide a framework for an investigation of a dispute or machineryfor an appeal.
B PRINCIPLES
1. The opportunity to make a complaint or grievance is an essential right for all those who use theservices provided by Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham. Complaints can be a valuable way of evaluating and improvingour services and of ensuring they are responsive to the needs and preferences of users.
2. Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham's complaints procedure is intended to be speedy, effective and easily understandable.
To ensure fairness, any investigation required will be carried out by someone who was not directlyinvolved with the incident relating to the complaint.
3. Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham recognises that making a complaint can be difficult and stressful for the personmaking the complaint. Appropriate assistance will be offered to the complainant. At any stage acomplainant may seek the help of an independent advocate and we will provide information on thison request.
4. A complaint can also be stressful for a person against whom a complaint is made and that person mayalso need assistance and support. Any member of staff or volunteer against whom a complaint is madewill be given the fullest opportunity to answer any criticisms.
5. Every effort will be made to try and resolve any problem as soon as possible with the personconcerned. If it is necessary to take the matter further it will be done in line with the proceduredescribed below.
6. Some complaints have or may have financial or legal consequences for Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham. In suchcases its insurers require us to cease direct contact with the complainant. It may then be necessaryin the interests of the complainant to refer them to another agency both for assistance with thecomplaint and to ensure that their service needs are met. [See Appendix I: Procedure for handlingcomplaints which may have financial or legal consequences for Mind.]
7. Mind will respect the confidentiality of both the complainant and any person complained about, subjectto the provisions of our Confidentiality Policy. This states that, if a complaint is to be properlyinvestigated and action taken as a result of the complaint, it may not always be possible to avoid abreach of confidentiality. The permission of the complainant will be sought for this but when thewelfare of the complainant or other people is seriously at risk it may be necessary to breachconfidentiality even if that permission is withheld.
8. The outcome of all complaints and investigations will be reported in confidence to the Executive Committee and in writing to the complainant. A report on Complaints will also be made available to funders of Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham services as part of the evaluation of these services.
9. This Procedure should be read in conjunction with Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham's Confidentiality Policy andHarassment Policy, and with the managing complaints procedure.
Date adopted / July 2006Date Last Reviewed / July 2014
Date of Next Review / July 2017
Author / Michelle Kabia
Managing complaints Procedure
Our commitment to you
We want you to receive services you need. We try to ensure that we deliver a high quality service, but sometimes things do go wrong.
If you are unhappy about the service you have received
If you are not happy with a particular aspect of a service you have received, we would like to know about it. At all times, we will try to be open to criticism, quick to admit our mistakes and apologise when we have done something wrong.
Here are some examples of when to make a complaint:
- If you are not satisfied with a service we provide
- If we do not follow our policies and procedures
- If you have are unhappy with the service provided by a member of staff or volunteer
We take every complaint as useful feedback that we can use to improve our services. This means that we really want to know about your complaint so please don’t be afraid to let us know when you are unhappy with the services you receive.
Who can make a complaint
Anyone who uses any of the services provided by Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham, or any person acting as the agreed representative or advocate on behalf of the complainant.
How do I make a complaint
When you make a complaint, we will try to ensure that the process is as straight forward as possible and at any stage of this procedure you can ask a friend or advocate who can support you.
Step 1 - Informal stage
First raise the complaint with the member of staff responsible for your service(or their line manager) to try to resolve the problem. The staff will make every effort to resolve the problem with you immediately however as they may have to look into your complaint we aim to do this within 5 working days.
Step 2 - Formal stage
If stage 1 does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction, you will need to put your complaint in writing (you can do this by completing our complaint form) and giving it to the Service Manager.
We will aim to acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days, and also provde you with a name as your point of contact over the matter.
The Service Manager will carry out an investigation and we will aim to send you a full response within 20 working days. If we cannot do this because of exceptional circumstances, we will let you know what is happening and when you can expect a full response.
If our investigation shows that your complaint about our service is justified, we will tell you how we will sort out the problem. Where relevant, we will also tell you how we plan to make sure the mistake does not happen again.
Step 3 - Formal stage
If you remain unhappy with the outcome of step 2, you will need to inform the Chief Executive Officer (either in writing or by telephone) and your complaint and the findings will be further investigated by the CEO . We will aim to acknowldege your request within 5 working days and aim for a written response to you within 15 working days with the outcome of the CEO’s findings.
Step 4 - Appeal stage
If you remain unhappy with the CEO’s response, you have the right to appeal to the Executive Committee of Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham and Newham. To progress your complaint to this stage, you will need to inform the Director in writing who will ensure that the Chair of the committee isinformed of the complaint.
We aim to acknowledge your complaint within five working days and will let you know the date of the next Executive Committee meeting when your complaint will be reviewed. We will then inform you in writing within 15 days of the Executive Committee meeting of their decision.
Local Authority and CCG
Ultimately, if you are not satisfied with how we handle your complaint, you can complain to Mind in Tower Hamlet’s and Newham commissioners, the CCG or Local Authority. Before going to the commissioners, we recommend that you try to resolve the issues with us locally.
The contact details for our commissioners are available from reception:
As well as going through the above procedures, you can get advice and support from your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau, an advocacy agency or Law Centre.These organisations will offer advice and support free of charge.
Limitations of our complaints procedure
Anonymous complaints: this procedure cannot deal effectively with complaints received anonymously. Responsibility for dealing with anonymous complaints rests with the Service Manager in conjunction with the CEO of Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham
Complaints about services that Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham do not provide will be treated as suggestions and referred by the Service Manager to the Executive Committee.
We are unable to deal with complaints that are made more than 6 months after the event you wish to complain about.
Complaint form
We recognise that making a complaint can be difficult, should you need some help to complete this form please do ask a member of the team.
Please use this form to give details of your complaint.
Name
Address
Tel:
Have you spoken to anyone at Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham and Newham to try and resolve your complaint?
Please tickyes no
If you answered ‘yes’ to the above question, please give the name of the person you spoke to:
Please give all the details of your complaint below:
What would you like us to do to put the matter right?
Signed ______Date______
Thank you for taking the time to complete this form.
Complaints procedure flow chart
Stage 1
Verbal complaint
Raise the problem with a worker immediately
If not resolved to your satisfaction within 5 working days carry on to stage 2
Stage 2
Formal written complaint
Request a complaints form from reception (or used the one attached)
Send it completed to the Service Manager who will aim
to send you a full response within 20 working days. If not resolved carry on to stage 3
Stage 3
Referral to the CEO of Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham
Your complaint and the findings will be further investigated by the CEO. We will aim to to sent you a written response within 15 working days with the outcome of their findings.
Stage 4
Appeals Procedure to the Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham Executive Committee
The Executive Committee will look at your complaint at its next meeting.
You will be informed in writing within 15 working days of the
committee meeting, of their decision.
Stage 5
Referral to Local Authority
If you have completed the final stage of our complaints procedure and you remain unhappy with the outcome, you have the right to take your complaint to our Commissioners. You will need to contact them directly if you wish to pursue this option.
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