Making a Complaint Guide

7/MGTADMIN/Governance/PRO/001

How to Make a Complaint

01.04.11

Praxis Care

MAKING A COMPLAINT GUIDE

TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL SERVICE USERS

1INTRODUCTION

Praxis Care values the comments and feedback it receives from service users (including carers and service user representatives).

2WANT TO COMPLAIN?

If you are unhappy about the service you are receiving from Praxis Care, then you have the right to complain.

Praxis Care aims for high standards but sometimes things do go wrong. Praxis Care will only be able to help you and try and put things right if you tell us you are unhappy.

Do not be afraid to complain. Praxis Care welcomes your comments, both positive and negative, because they may help us improve our services for everyone.

The complaints process has 3 stages. You may make your initial complaint at either Stage 1 or Stage 2.

STAGE 1 – LOCAL RESOLUTION

Most problems are best sorted out by the staff who are working with you. Contact the Manager of the service – you can do this face-to-face, by telephone, in writing or by email. They will do their best to sort things out quickly. This should take no more than two weeks. Please ask for form 7/MGTADMIN/Governance/D – Complaint Form if you want to make a complaint in writing.

STAGE 2 – FORMAL INVESTIGATION

Your complaint can be formally investigated if:-

You are not happy with the response to your complaint at STAGE 1; or
You have a serious complaint that you feel unable to raise with the Manager of the service.

If you are not happy with the response to your complaint from STAGE 1, the Manager will contact Praxis Care’s Complaints Officer. They will let you know that they have done this. The Complaints Officer will let you know when they have received your complaint and they will tell you what they will do.

You have the right to expect a response within 4 weeks.

STAGE 3 – INDEPENDENT REVIEW

If you are not happy with the response to Stage 2 you can contact the Complaints Officer, who will ask a member of the Praxis Care Board to investigate your complaint. You can put your request for independent review in writing using the form 7/MGTADMIN/Governance/C – Independent Review Form.

You have the right to expect a response within 4 months.

3WHO WILL BE INVOLVED

For a STAGE 1 complaint, all staff have training in helping you to complain and to try to sort out the problem.

For STAGE 2 and 3 the complaint will be managed by an experienced Complaints Officer.

Only the people directly involved in your complaint and the investigation will know about the details of the complaint.

If the complaint is made by a carer, family or friend, Praxis Care will need your consent before we can start investigating a complaint, as the organisation may need to share details with your carer, family or friend.

At all stages you may bring a friend, carer, family member, advocate or other representative with you.

4 STILL NOT HAPPY

If you feel that following a STAGE 3 Independent Review you are still not happy with Praxis Care’s response you can contact organisations that may help you with your complaint.

You can contact the Complaints Officer or Service Manager in your local Health and Social Services Trust or Local Authority.

If the complaint relates to an issue that affects the landlord of the accommodation a copy of the complaint record will be sent to the landlord.

In Northern Ireland these organisations are:-

RQIA – Regulation Quality and Improvement Authority

9thFloorRiversideTower

5 Lanyon Place

Belfast

BT1 3BT

Tel: 028 9051 7500

Email:

RQIA is the independent body responsible for monitoring and inspecting Praxis Care’s services.

If you complain to RQIA about a service you receive from Praxis Care they will inspect the service against the minimum standards to check that the service is operating as it should.

NISCC -Northern Ireland Social Care Council

7th Floor, Millennium House

19-25 Great Victoria Street

Belfast

BT2 7AQ

Tel: 028 9041 7600

Email:

NISCC is the regulatory body for the social care workforce in Northern Ireland. If you complain to NISCC about a social care worker, they will investigate the complaint against the NISCC Code of Practice for Social Care Workers.

Northern Ireland Ombudsman

Freepost BEL 1478

Belfast

BT1 6BR

Tel: 028 9023 3821

Email:

The Northern Ireland Ombudsman’s purpose is to ensure that every citizen in NI is serviced by a fair and efficient public administration. You can complain to the ombudsman about the service you receive as Praxis Care partners with public bodies (i.e. Health and Social Care, Housing Executives etc.).

Supporting People

3rd Floor, The Housing Centre

2 Adelaide Street

Belfast

BT2 8PB

Tel: 08448 920 900

Email:

The Supporting People Programme funds a range of services which provide housing related support to vulnerable people to improve their quality of life and attain independence.

Supporting People welcome feedback and complaints related to the services they fund.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

4th Floor, 24-26 Arthur Street

Belfast

BT1 4GF

Tel: 028 9051 5490

Email:

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) is an independent regulator of charities in N.I.

This commission will investigate your complaint. If they decide that there is a serious risk of significant harm to or abuse of the charity, its assets, beneficiaries or reputation, the commission will consider what to do to protect the charity.

In England these are:-

CQC - Care Quality Commission

CQC National Correspondence

Citygate

Gallowgate

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE1 4PA

Tel: 03000 616 161

CQC is the independent regulator for all health and social care services in England. While CQC will not investigate your complaint, they encourage feedback on any service and will use the information you provide when they are inspecting a service against the minimum standards.

Ofsted - Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills

Royal Exchange Buildings

St Anne’s Square

Manchester

M2 7LA

Tel: 03001 234 666

Email:

Ofsted welcomes complaints in relation to children’s services. If you make a complaint to Ofsted they will investigate to find out whether the service is meeting the relevant requirements and regulations.

GSCC - General Social Care Council

Myson House

Railway Terrace

Rugby

CV21 3HT

Tel: 0845 070 0630

The GSCC is the regulator of the social work profession and social work education in England. You can make a complaint to the GSCC about a Registered Social Worker. The GSCC has a duty to investigate complaints as Registered Social Workers are expected to abide by the GSCC Code of Practice for Social Workers.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

MillbankTower

Millbank

London

SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0345 015 4033

Email:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman exists to provide a service to the public by undertaking independent investigations into complaints that government departments, a range of public bodies in the UK, and the NHS in England have not resolved properly or fairly or where a poor service has been provided.

Supporting People, Communities and Local Government

If you want to complain to Supporting People in England about a service that it funds, contact your Local City Council who will provide you with area contact details.

The Charity Commission

POBOX 1227

Liverpool

L69 3UG

Tel: 0848 300 0218

The Charity Commission registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. This commission will investigate your complaint and if it decides that there is a serious risk of significant harm to or abuse of the charity, its assets, beneficiaries or reputation, it will consider what to do best to protect the charity.

In the Isle of Man these are:-

Registration and Inspection Unit

Reayrt Carnane

Westmoreland Road

Douglas

IM1 4QA

Tel: 01624 642 422

The Registration and Inspection Unit seeks to ensure that services are compliant with legislation and encourages services to meet published standards.

You can contact the unit to make a complaint and it has a statutory power to investigate the complaint.

In the Republic of Ireland these are:-

HIQA - Health Information and Quality Authority

Unit 1301

City Gate

Mahon

Cork

Tel: 021 240 9300

Email:

The HIQA is an independent authority whose purpose is to drive quality, safety and accountability in health and social care services, public, voluntary or private bodies. The HIQA welcomes comments from service users about services it inspects.