1 Introduction
1.1 Our aim is to put you first and provide you with the best possible service. If you feel we have not provided the level of service you would expect from us then you can make a complaint. The Corporate Complaints, Compliments and Comments Procedure is one way you can do this. You can tell us when we get things wrong, so we can put them right. You can also tell us when we get things right, make comments about the things we do and suggest new ways of doing things.
1.2 We recognise that sometimes it is not easy to complain. If you do need to make a complaint, we will take your concerns seriously. We will treat you fairly and with respect and you can be confident that you will not receive a poorer service as a result. If we uphold your complaint you can expect an apology and for us to put things right quickly.
1.3 This procedure sets out how we will deal with your complaints, compliments and comments. The purpose of the procedure in relation to complaints is to resolve your complaint and put you back in the position you would have been in before having to make the complaint.
1.4 Darlington Mind’s complaints procedure has various stages. We will try to resolve the majority of complaints quickly and where appropriate we will resolve the matter informally.
1.5 A Manager from the service you are complaining about will usually respond to your informal complaint and try to put things right. If you are not happy with the outcome you can ask for us to formalise your complaint by writing to our Corporate Complaints Investigator. Should you be dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation into their formal complaint then you will have a final right to appeal to the Board of Trustees who will then convene an appeal panel. Should the complainant remain unhappy with Darlington Mind’s response to their complaint they have the right to refer the complaint to an external arbitrator e.g. National Mind
1.6 It is important that all complaints, compliments and comments are made under these procedures, so we can monitor performance across Darlington Mind, identify topics and trends and improve services accordingly.
2 Corporate Complaints Investigator
2.1 The Corporate Complaints Investigator Complaints Investigator – is the Chief Executive Officer. a Manager or third party appointed by the CEO for the purpose of investigation. The Corporate Complaints Investigator oversees the Corporate Complaints, Compliments and Comments Procedure for Darlington Mind. The Corporate Complaints Investigator can provide information about the complaint’s procedure in other formats.
2.2 The Corporate Complaints Investigator records and acknowledges all complaints made under the corporate complaints procedure. S/ he provide support to staff responding to stage 1 complaint; monitors the progress of stage 1 complaints and carries out stage 2 investigations and maintains the records for complaints at stages 3 & 4. The Corporate Complaints Investigator uses the information collected about complaints to identify any topics and trends and help improve services.
2.3 You can contact the Corporate Complaints Investigator by telephone, e-mail, in writing, in person or by any other reasonable means. Corporate Complaints Investigator – The CEO. Telephone: (01325) 283169 Address: Darlington Mind, St Hilda’s House, 11 Borough Road, Darlington. Co. Durham. DL1 1SQ. E-mail: [email protected]
3 Defining complaints
3.1 Darlington Mind defines a complaint within the context of this policy document to be:
“When an individual or group informs us, they are not happy about a service or something we have or have not done that has had an impact upon them”
4 Who can use the Corporate Complaints, Compliments and Comments Procedure?
4.1 If you are a Referral Agency, Carer, Partner or Business Associate, Contractor, stakeholder or have contact with the organisation for other reasons your feedback is important to us.
4.2 This procedure does not apply to complaints that are from Service Users of Darlington Mind. These should be raised using the Service User Complaints, Compliments & Comments Policy and Procedure.
5 How can you contact us?
5.1 We have tried to make it as easy as possible for you to tell us what you think. If you know the member of staff who delivers your service, you can speak to them about the problem.
5.2 You can fill out a complaint, compliments & comments form which is attached at the back of this document or should you prefer, you may request a complaints, compliments & comments form by contacting [email protected] or by contacting the CEO.
6 What the procedure covers
This procedure covers compliments*, comments* and complaints about:
• the appropriateness of services• the quality of services• changes to services• provision of accurate information• speed or delays in decision making• speed or delays in providing services• dissatisfaction with a decision• failure to deliver services (incl. the complaints procedure)• a failure to follow Darlington Minds policies and procedures (incl. the complaints procedure)• the impact of a Darlington Mind policy or action or procedure• the lack of proper procedures• complaints about the attitude or behaviour of staff• complaints about the Chief Executive or Chairperson• complaints involving more than one project• anonymous complaints
This list does not cover all complaints that might be made but gives you an indication of the kinds of issues that might be dealt with by Darlington Mind under this policy.
6.1 Complaints about the attitude or behaviour of staff - Where your complaint relates solely to the attitude or behaviour of a member of staff, we may deal with it under Darlington Mind’s Disciplinary Procedure.
6.2 Complaints about the Chief Executive or Chairperson - We will refer complaints about the Chief Executive or Chairperson to a nominated member of the Darlington Mind Board of Trustees for determination by the Board as a whole. If you wish to complain about the Chief Executive or Chairperson then the complaint should be directed to the Board of Trustees of Darlington Mind via the [email protected] email address or by calling 01325 283169
6.3 Verbal Complaints involving more than one project - If your verbal complaint (stage 1) involves more than one project, the project dealing with the main elements of your complaint will take the lead. The Project Lead will work alongside the other projects(s) and provide you with a single verbal response which will cover all the elements of your complaint.
6.4 Anonymous complaints - If you make an anonymous complaint, we will investigate it, however, we will not be able to provide you with a response. If you don’t want to give your name because you are worried that it might affect your service, please be assured this will not be the case. If you do not want to speak to the member of staff who oversees the service, you can contact the Corporate Complaints Investigator
6.5 Compliments - Compliments are a great way of telling us when we get things right. If you pay someone a compliment in person, they will note it down and pass the details on to the Corporate Complaints Investigator to be officially recorded. Compliments can help us share good practices and quality and help improve services.
6.6 Comments - Comments are also a great way of sharing your ideas about particular projects or services. If you pass your comments on to a member of staff, they will pass the details on to the Corporate Complaints Investigator to be recorded.
7. What the procedure does not cover
Listed below are things are not covered by this procedure because they are either covered by another policy or procedure or are outside of Darlington Mind’s control.
They include:
• matters dealt with under Darlington Mind’s Disciplinary Procedure• insurance claims against Darlington Mind Ltd• requests for information including through a subject access request• complaints from Service Users• complaints that have already been investigated at stage 2, stage 3 & stage 4 of Darlington Mind’s corporate complaints procedure• complaints made 12 months after the date you learned that something went wrong (in some cases we may be able to consider your complaint);• complaints outside Darlington Mind’s control (for example, complaints about utilities companies or the structure of the premises although we can advise you who you should address your complaint too);• complaints subject to legal proceedings
7.1 Insurance Claims - We will not usually look into your complaint if the issue is something which should be dealt with as an insurance claim against Darlington Mind. This kind of complaint would be referred to our Insurers through a formal claims process.
7.2 Complaints, compliments and comments by Service Users - Service Users have their own complaints procedure. You can make a complaint, compliment or comment about Darlington Mind Services or Staff using the Darlington Mind Ltd Service User Complaints, compliments and comments procedure.
To request a copy of the Service User Complaints, Compliments & Comments Procedure which has a copy of the complaint form attached you can contact the: Complaints Investigator (The CEO)Darlington Mind, St Hilda’s House, 11 Borough Road, Darlington. Co Durham. DL1 1SQ. Tel: (01325) 283169. Email: [email protected]
7.3 Complaints made 12 months after the date you learned that something went wrongAlthough not an exhaustive list, we may accept your complaint for one or more of the following reasons:
• We believe that there would be a benefit to you in looking into your complaint• There is likely to be enough information available from the time the event happened to enable an effective and fair investigation to be carried out• There are enough individuals available from the time of the event you describe to enable an effective and fair investigation to be carried out
• There is a legal requirement on Darlington Mind Ltd to investigate the complaint, as advised by our legal advisors
7.4 Complaints subject to legal proceedingsWe will not usually look into your complaint if you have or intend to take legal action in relation to the issue. Such complaints will be dealt with by our legal advisors on behalf of Darlington Mind Limited and its Board of Trustees.
8. Advocacy and representation
If you need some help to make your complaint you can contact the Corporate Complaints Investigator who can help you contact an Advocate or appropriate representation agency. If someone is complaining on your behalf you must tell us you have given your consent for us to share your personal information with them.
9. Accessibility and equal opportunities monitoring
We are committed to making sure that everyone has equal rights to all our services, including the complaints procedure. To help make sure our complaints procedure is easily accessible we:
• use plain language• accept complaints over the phone or in person, in writing, by e-mail or by any other reasonable means, providing the complaint in made in a formal manner• can provide access to information and responses in Braille, large print, audio, easy read format and other languages where needed• can provide translators (including sign language translators) where needed
10. Complaint Stages
10.1 Stage 1 An informal complaint refers to any comment of dissatisfaction, which does not entail a formal complaint or require an official written response. Such complaints tend to be made verbally. Sometimes complaints can be dealt with most effectively by simply talking to the person involved and making their view known. The Complainant should be encouraged to express their views openly. These should be listened and acknowledged. Every attempt should be made to resolve the problem at this stage.
The complainant will be asked for their ideas on an appropriate solution, and steps should be taken to meet this wherever it is reasonable. Informal complaints are usually the responsibility of the Project Lead working at Darlington Mind. The aim is to keep the process as straight forward as possible and to deal with the issues on the spot in an informal manner.
If the Project Lead does not have the time to deal with the informal complaint immediately then this should be explained to the complainant and an invitation to return for a specific mutually convenient meeting. This stage may be by-passed entirely if so, wished by the complainant.
10.2 Stage 2 - If a resolution is not reached and the complainant is not happy with the result of Stage 1 or the complainant wishes to by-pass Stage 1; a formal complaint may be registered with the Complaints Investigator (CEO) Stage 2. This should be done in writing and a copy of the complaint’s procedure including the complaints form will be issued.The complaint will be acknowledged as soon as possible. The complainant will be contacted to discuss and establish the full details of the complaint by the Complaints Investigator within 5 working days of receipt of the complaint.
The aim is to get a better understanding of the nature and circumstances surrounding the complaint. It is also an opportunity to establish any possible outcomes that the complainant is hoping for.
The Complaints Investigator will interview and collect written & signed statements from individuals involved in the complaint (if required) including any relevant witness statements within 28 working days after the initial meeting with the complainant. (This timescale may need to be extended should individuals not be available – the complainant will be informed). Staff interviewed by the Complaints Investigator are entitled to have a union representative or friend with them at the time of interview should they choose to do so.
All statements and interviews should be treated in the strictest of confidence. Their storage must comply with GDPR regulations. Nothing should be placed on staff records unless formal action is taken against an individual.
On receipt of all signed statements the Complaints Investigator will present their report to the CEO for a decision. This will be reported to the complainant along with an indication of what actions, if any, have been taken in response to the complaint.
10.3 Stage 3 - Should the Complainant be dissatisfied with the CEO’s response at Stage 2 of the investigation, the Complainant has a right to a final appeal to the Board of Trustees who will then convene an appeal panel. Membership on the panel must be restricted to people who have no previous involvement in the complaint.
The appeals panel will provide a written response to the Complainant within 28 working days (This timescale may need to be extended should individuals not be available – the complainant will be informed). The written response must include an advice slip at the bottom of the statement for the complainant to agree or disagree with the decision reached by the Appeal Panel. The Complaints Investigator must receive a copy of the response sent to the complainant by the Appeals Panel. All individuals who have provided written statements must be informed in writing of the response outcome, the recommendations or follow-up actions as decided by the Appeals Panel.
10.4 Alternatively should a complainant not be happy at any stage with Darlington Minds response the individual may wish to write to the Local Council, (where Mind Services are provided under an Individual Agreement) to:
For Darlington: The Complaints and Information Governance Manager (The Complaints Manager), Darlington Borough Council. Town Hall, Darlington. DL1 5QT. Tele: 01325 406777 Email:[email protected]
For North Yorkshire: You can make a complaint online by following this link: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/adult-social-care-complaintsFor County Durham: You can make a complaint online by following this link:https://www.durham.gov.uk/complaints
Alternatively, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), (where Mind Services are provided under a Private Agreement) to: The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) website: www.lgo.org.uk/adult-social-care/ Telephone: 0300 061 061411. Record keeping and data sharing
During the complaints process a file containing correspondence and other relevant documentation will be maintained by the Responding/Investigating Officer. Following the conclusion of each stage of Darlington Minds complaints procedure any documents will be held by the Corporate Complaints Investigator. Any irrelevant information will be disposed of in a secure manner (i.e. shredding of paper documents and deletion from electronic systems). All records will be kept in line with Darlington Mind’s file retention policy.
During the complaints process it may be necessary to share your personal details with Mind personnel, Trustees & Mind’s Solicitor. We will only share details that are relevant to the complaint. If you decide to take your complaint to the external arbitrator your personal data may be shared with the Director of Network Support.
All personal data will be securely stored and will be processed in line with Darlington Minds Data Protection Policy and the provisions of GDPR.