External Complaints Procedure
Introduction
The Charity aims to provide a high standard of service acceptable to all of our users. If we fail to do this we want to know about it. This will enable us not only to deal with the specific problem, but also to avoid it happening again.
To achieve this, it is the policy of The Charity:
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To make it easy for users or the public to get hold of us, by telephone, in writing, by e-mail or in person
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That all complaints, no matter how they are received, should be treated with equal importance and allocated to someone with sufficient seniority to resolve the issues
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To respond quickly to all complaints within the time scales indicated in this document
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To show genuine regret that someone has felt it necessary to complain and, in response, to be courteous, honest and open
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To help someone make a complaint and complete any forms for them if they need assistance
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To monitor complaints and to learn from things that have gone wrong
Our complaints procedure sets out how to take up matters you think are unsatisfactory about the service you have received from us.
This document sets out the procedures we will follow if we receive a complaint from users of the service, an organisation, or members of the public. It does not address complaints made by staff or volunteers. These are dealt with through Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures.
The procedure is meant to provide a means to resolve a dispute between The Charity and any complainant. It requires employees and management at every stage to resolve the complaint.
Complaints are likely to be in one or more of the following areas:
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Dissatisfaction with our service
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Disputes between The Charity and users regarding activities, or procedures
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Discourtesy or unhelpfulness on the part of the employee
The Procedure
When someone wishes to register a complaint, the following should be adopted.
Where the complaint is against the Chief Executive Officer, the same procedure will be followed, but with the Chair of The Board of Trustees substituting for the Chief Executive Officer’s role at all stages.
A complaint must be made no later than 12 months after the date the event occurred or if later, the date the event came to the notice of the complainant. The time limit will not apply if the Charity is satisfied that the complainant can give a good reason for not making the complaint within that time limit and despite the delay, it is still possible to investigate the complaint effectively and fairly.
Preliminary Stage
The complaint should be received, either in writing or by a request to make a verbal complaint.
Stage 1
If possible you should first discuss the problem with your first point of contact (perhaps the Drivers, Club Leaders or Personal care worker etc) who will do their best to resolve the problem quickly and to your satisfaction.
Stage 2
If you feel unable to discuss the problem with your point of contact or they are unable to resolve the problems, you should contact DABDs Head Office on 0330 054 2500 or email comms@dabd.org.uk and they will look into your query.
Stage 3
If you have made a complaint to the Administration Office and are not satisfied, you may write to the Chief Executive Officer (at Parsloes Avenue) who will look into the problem. An investigator will be assigned to look into issues raised.
Stage 4
If we receive a written complaint it may take a little time to consider it fully, but we will write to you within one week to acknowledge receipt of the complaint and to inform you what steps are being taken to resolve it. You will be kept informed about the progress of the investigation at all stages.
Stage 5
If there is not an immediate solution we will further investigate your complaint fully contacting those concerned. We will then write to you within 28 days with the details of our findings, any action we have taken or proposals made to resolve your complaint. We aim to have all complaint investigations concluded within six months unless a different deadline has been agreed with the complainant and there is good reason for this.
Stage 6
If you are still unhappy you can ask the Chief Executive Officer to take your complaint to the Board of The Charity or you may forward the complaint to the Social Services Quality Control Department, Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) or the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The LGO provides a free independent service and you can contact the Advice Team for information and advice or to register your complaint. The LGO will not usually investigate a complaint until we have had an opportunity to respond and resolve the issue.
Our Personalisation Services are registered with and regulated by CQC & Ofsted. The CQC & Ofsted cannot get involved in individual complaints, but are happy to receive information about our services at any time.
Addresses for Complaints
Personal Support:
Safeguarding Panel
42/48 Parsloes Avenue,
Dagenham, Essex RM9 5NU
Administration Lead
Central Office
42/48 Parsloes Avenue, Dagenham, Essex RM9 5NU
Chief Executive Officer Head Office:
42/48 Parsloes Avenue Dagenham, Essex RM9 5NU
Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGO)
Telephone: 0300 061 0614
Email: advice@lgo.org.uk
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
CQC National Customer Service Centre
Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 4PA
Website: www.cqc.org.uk/contactus.cfm
Ofsted
Advocacy
If the client is not happy about making a complaint themselves and they do not have someone who can talk to us on their behalf, we will provide assistance to enable the client to understand the complaints procedure and/or find or direct them to someone from an independent Charity to act for them.
The Charity will only accept complaints from a representative where the service user cannot complain unaided and cannot give consent because they lack the capacity and the representative is acting in the service user’s best interests – for example, where the matter complained about, if true, would be detrimental to the service user.
Recording and Monitoring Complaints
All complaints will be reported to the Chief Executive Officer, even when resolved.
The Chief Executive Officer will record and keep on file all complaints, including those which were resolved without being put into writing (please note that a written record will be made of complaints by telephone or in person). All complaints shall be treated with regard to the Confidentiality Policy of The Charity and will be brought to meetings of the Board of Trustees.
Publicising the Procedure
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for ensuring that any information available clearly explains the procedure for making a complaint.
Ensuring Effectiveness of the Procedure
All trustees will receive a copy of the Complaints Procedure.
The Complaints Procedure is on The Charity’s website www.dabd.org.uk
Existing and new employees and volunteers will be introduced to the Complaints Procedure through appropriate induction and training.
The Procedure will be reviewed annually, and amendments will be proposed and agreed by the Board of Trustees.
Customer Feedback - Complaints Procedure Flow Chart
Point of Service - Informal
This is the first opportunity for a service to resolve a customer’s dissatisfaction, and the majority of complaints will be resolved informally
A Service user can complain directly to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). The Ombudsman will usually investigate a complaint only after it has been through all of our complaint’s procedure. Advise can be sought from the LGO Advice Team on 0300 061 0614
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