Compliments and complaints Overview TuVida is committed to providing the highest quality of service possible for carers and others to whom support is provided. This commitment extends to all areas of work which staff and volunteers may be involved in on behalf of the charity. It includes all general contact and communication with staff, the giving of information, advice, the provision of support and short breaks respite. The charity wants our clients to be satisfied at all times with the service they receive and by the way they are treated. We understand that service users will at times wish to compliment our services, make suggestions on how we can improve or indeed complain about them. This policy explains the processes to be followed by managers and staff in such circumstances. Compliments and Suggestions All compliments and suggestions will be retained and used to inform good practice. The Senior Management Team will celebrate any compliments for individual and team work and will acknowledge and appreciate the staff involvement and support provided to individual carers. Please use the following email address to send over any compliments you may have: [email protected] Written compliments are most useful but if this is not convenient please contact your local office who will complete a compliment on your behalf. We would also encourage you to post reviews on our social media sites including Facebook. Principles of Complaints Procedures AIMThe aim of any complaint investigation, whether it is done informally or as part of the formal complaints procedure, is to provide as full an understanding of the situation as possible. Only then can the appropriate action be taken that will, where possible, resolve the matter in a way that is satisfactory to all concerned. PRINCIPLES Any complaint received will be taken seriously and will be dealt with sensitively in compliance with this complaints procedure. The complaints procedure will be freely available and accessible via a variety of formats including online via our website. Complaints will be investigated fully and fairly. Complaints will be dealt with in confidence, unless another person could be put at risk by matters referred to in the complaint. Complaints and Compliments Any complaint that involves or may involve a safeguarding issue must immediately be reported to the our Locality Safeguarding Lead/Officers and the Designated Safeguarding Officer who will follow the relevant Safeguarding processes. Such cases are likely to be reported to the Safeguarding Authorities and be subject to investigation by them. Any member of staff who receives a complaint either about an incident, themselves or about another staff member of TuVida will immediately inform their Line Manager or a member of the Senior Management Team. All reasonable efforts will be made to find a solution that is acceptable to all concerned. Complainants will be given opportunities to discuss the problem and will be encouraged to use a friend or relative to support them where appropriate. TuVida will, wherever possible, use the complaints procedure as a means of improving its services. Inappropriate Complaints Most complaints give useful feedback to us on our service. All complaints will be investigated and will not be influenced positively or negatively by the way in which it is delivered. However, TuVida has a responsibility to protect its staff from people who behave in a way which is abusive or malicious and if a complainant's behaviour prevents appropriate action the complaint cannot be pursued. Examples of behaviour where the complaint may not be pursued: Abusive or threatening behaviour—whether in person or in writing. Persistent telephone calls, emails or letters on the same issue. Persistent verbal complaints that cannot be resolved. Complaints Procedure Complainants will be offered the opportunity to resolve the complaint informally in the first instance. The Local Service Team will look into the complaint and acknowledge it within 3 working days. TuVida will write, where requested, to the complainant with our conclusions. If this is not possible or if the complainant wishes to pursue the complaint formally then a staged approach, guided by the principles above, will be used. The formal complaints procedure for TuVida is set out below. STAGE ONE All formal complaints should be written to ‘Complaints Manager’ and sent to our head office OR via our [email protected] email address. This complaint will be designated to an appropriate senior manager to oversee the complaint and relevant investigation. Receipt of the complaint (via letter or email) will be acknowledged within three working days. The complaint will be investigated by the appropriate manager, or in cases of a complaint against the Chief Executive, by a member of the Board of Trustees. We may need to discuss the details with the complainant, so we are clear about their required outcome. An opportunity for the complainant to speak with the manager, either face to face or via telephone, may be offered. If the complainant would rather speak to someone not directly involved in running the service they will be passed on to the most appropriate senior manager in the organisation. A written reply with details of the investigation and any proposed actions will be sent within20 working days of the formal complaint being received. If appropriate, a further meeting will be offered to discuss the outcome of the investigation. STAGE TWO If the outcome of the investigation at stage one is not acceptable to the complainant, they can appeal in writing within 20 days of receiving our written response. The appeal will be considered by a senior staff panel convened for the purpose. This panel will be restricted to people who have had no previous involvement in the complaint. The complainant will be advised that they can bring a supporter or advisor to aid them in their presentation to the panel. They may give either oral or written statements to support their view. The panel will make recommendations as necessary to the Chief Executive Officer or in cases of a complaint against the Chief Executive Officer, to the Board of Trustees. The Panel will send a written reply with details of any further proposed actions within 10 working days of the panel appeal date. If appropriate, a further meeting will be offered to discuss the outcome of the investigation. STAGE THREE Stage 2 is the final stage in the organisation’s complaints procedure. The complaints manager will inform the complainant that if they remain dissatisfied with the outcome, they have the right to contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and will provide them with the necessary contact details. FURTHER ACTION In the event of the complainant still not being satisfied with the recommendations of the panel, then this will exhaust all relevant stages within TuVida. The complainant will be advised of their right to contact any external agencies they may wish to escalate their complaint to. Complaint Governance The Chief Executive officers and Board of Trustees have, as a standing item on every board meeting, a complaints and safeguarding item. A report is prepared by the Chief Executive Officer for presentation at the monthly board meetings. Confidentiality We will only tell people involved in resolving your complaint about it. After it’s resolved, we will keep a summary on record, using the General Data Protection Regulations guidance. If you use our services and have a file, the record will be placed on your file. We use anonymised information from complaints to make sure we learn and improve our services. We may be obliged under contract to report complaints to funding bodies, for example the local authority. We will not disclose any personal or identifiable details regarding the complaint without prior written consent from all parties.