What is the Complaints Procedure for?
The Complaints Procedure has been written so that those people who attend Longfields, and their parents and carers, can raise their complaints and concerns and have them dealt with properly and quickly. The managers and staff at Longfields will take your concerns and complaints seriously, because taking notice of complaints is a good way to find out whether the service is the very best it can be, or whether there are ways in which it could get better. Everyone involved with Longfields wants it to be a place where people are not afraid to voice their opinions.
Longfields purpose is to provide good services to the people who attend there. But the managers of Longfields are also employers; this means that they have certain legal responsibilities to their staff. The Complaints Procedure tells the managers at Longfields what they should do when dealing with a complaint, so that they can be sure that what they do is legal, and that they are fair to everyone concerned.
What is this guide for and what's in it?
The purpose of this guide is to give help and information to parents and carers of people who attend Longfields, and who want to make a complaint about anything to do with the service provided there.
This guide also tells you how long Longfields should take to carry out each stage of the procedure. But there may be times when certain things take longer than the procedure says they should. For example, the procedure might say that an investigation should normally take no more than 14 days, but it may not be possible to finish it in this time if a member of staff needs to be interviewed and is off sick or on holiday. In this case, it may not be possible to avoid a delay, but the person dealing with your complaint must make sure that you know why there is a delay and when they expect to be able to finish the investigation.
This guide covers most types of complaints about Longfields, its staff and services. However, if a complaint is made which mentions a service user being abused or neglected, at Longfields or anywhere else, it has to be dealt with differently, and will usually be passed on to another organisation, rather than just being dealt with by Longfields. This procedure for dealing with abuse and neglect is called the Protection of Vulnerable Adults Procedure, and Longfields staff can give you more information about this if necessary.
The Complaints Procedure is divided into three parts, called Stages 1,2 and 3. At each stage, different people will look at your complaint and try to sort it out; if you are not happy with the suggestions they make, you can ask for your complaint to go on to the next stage. This guide tells you who will be involved at each stage, and what they will do.
Information about Stage 1 of the Complaints Procedure
How can I make a complaint?
If there is anything which you are not happy about at Longfields, you can let them know by writing a letter, telephoning, or going to Longfields and speaking to any member of staff.
If the person who you speak to cannot solve the problem, they should ask you if you want to make a formal complaint.
If you do wish to make a complaint, the member of staff will take some more information from you, which they will write down on a form (called a CP1 form).
You may find that the member of staff is asking you for a lot of information about your complaint; for example, this may include asking for the dates and times when certain things happened, and the names of all the people involved. This information is important to help the person who is going to look into the complaint; it is important that you give as much information as you can, but don't worry if there are some details you don't know or can't remember.
The member of staff should also ask you what you think could be done to sort the problem out. It doesn't matter if you don't know the answer to this, but if there is something which you think would help, this is a good chance to say so.
If possible, you should read and sign the CP1 form, to show that you think that the member of staff has written down what you have said correctly. If you are making your complaint by telephone, the member of staff will read out to you what they have written and you should say if there is anything they have written down which you are not happy with.
What happens next?
The member of staff will report your complaint to a Longfields manager, who will contact you as soon as possible to see if there is any way to sort the problem out quickly and without the need for a further investigation. They will usually telephone you the same day, and will write to you within 5 working days to let you know that they've received your complaint.
The Manager may go and speak to anyone else who is involved with the situation, and will then see if there is anything that they or Longfields can do immediately to put things right. If they have a suggestion, they will contact you and see if you are happy with their idea. If you are not happy, make sure that you let them know so that the complaint can be taken further.
Sometimes, a complaint cannot be sorted out immediately; the Manager may decide that they need to carry out an investigation to make sure that they have all the facts about the problem and have heard everyone's point of view. The Manager will contact you and must tell you how long this is likely to take; it should normally take no longer than 14 working days for the investigation to be completed.
What is an investigation?
This means that the Manager will find out all the information they need so that they can decide whether your complaint is fair and what can be done about it. They will usually interview everyone involved, including yourself, the person who attends Longfields, and any staff who are involved. They might also look at the written information which Longfields keeps on the person who attends there.
Can I have someone with me during the interview?
You and the person who attends Longfields can have someone with you during your interviews, if you wish, to give you support or to help you to make your opinions known. If you want to do this, make sure you let the Manager know and they will help to arrange it.
What happens after the investigation?
Once the Manager has all the information they need, they will consider it and decide whether they think there is a way to sort the matter out. They will contact you, and ask you whether you are happy with their suggestion about how to put things right.
Sometimes the problem which has led to your complaint might be something which Longfields needs to deal with; perhaps, for example, they need a new policy or procedure, or better staff training, so that they can improve the service which they provide.
At other times, the Manager might think that the problem was caused by a member of staff. This person might be asked to apologise to you or the person attending Longfields, or the Manager might suggest that they should have some further training or instruction to help them to do better in future.
What if there is a serious problem with a member of Longfields staff?
Occasionally, a complaint shows that there is a serious problem with a member of staff's work. If Longfields managers think that this is so serious that the member of staff may need to be disciplined, the person investigating your complaint will let you know. The complaint will not be taken any further until Longfields have decided whether or not to discipline the staff member. This is called the Disciplinary Procedure.
Somebody from Longfields may still need to interview you or the service-user if you have information which might help them to understand exactly what happened.
After the disciplinary procedure is completed, the Manager from Longfields will contact you and let you know whether:
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the problem you originally complained about has been dealt with by disciplinary action. In this case, the Manager will not be able to tell you exactly what has happened to the member of staff, as this is a private matter between staff and employer.
or
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the problem has not been dealt with by disciplinary action, in which case there may still be some areas of your complaint which need investigating or answering. In this case, the complaints procedure will be started up again so that these matters can be sorted out.
What if I'm not happy with the way Longfields has dealt with my complaint?
If you are not happy with the way things have turned out at the end of the first investigation, you can tell the Manager that you want the complaint to be investigated further; this is called a Stage 2 investigation.
The Manager will then write to you within the next 5 working days; the letter will set out information about your complaint, and what Longfields has done so far, and will state why you want the complaint investigated further.
Information about Stage 2 of the Complaints Procedure
What's different about the Stage 2 investigation?
A different Manager will carry out the Stage 2 investigation, and it will be their job to decide whether the Stage 1 investigation was carried out properly or not. They will then write a report, which will be discussed with another Longfields Manager, and these people will try to find a way to solve the problem.
Longfields can also decide to appoint an Independent Person to help with the Stage 2 investigation.
What's an Independent Person?
An Independent Person is someone who is not employed by Longfields. They also cannot be a member of the Management Committee, or have any relatives or friends who come to Longfields, or who are involved in the complaint in any way. They will have a lot of knowledge and experience of investigating complaints and of community care services. Their job is to check that the complaint is being investigated properly and fairly, so that you can be sure that everything is being done properly and is above board.
How do I get an Independent Person involved?
Longfields will get an Independent Person involved if you tell them that this is what you want. They may also do so if they think that it might be helpful to have somebody independent involved.
What happens next?
The Stage 2 Panel will meet to decide who is going to investigate the complaint; this person (the Investigating Officer) will write to you within 5 working days and tell you how long they think the Stage 2 investigation will take. Stage 2 should normally be finished within 28 days.
The Investigating Officer and Independent Person will go back over all the information that was collected at Stage 1. The purpose of this is to check whether all the information that is needed is there, or whether some information is missing; for example, they might think that some interviews were not done properly at Stage 1, and may decide to re-interview the people concerned.
If you or the person who attends Longfields are to be interviewed again, you have the right to have someone with you during the interviews, just as at Stage 1, and the Investigating Officer will help you to arrange this.
The Investigating Officer will then write a report, stating whether your complaint is upheld or not, and making some suggestions about how the problem can be dealt with. If there is an Independent Person involved, they must say whether they are happy with the way the investigation has been carried out, and may write a report themselves, if they have any suggestions which they think would be helpful.
The reports will be discussed with another Longfields manager, and these people will write to you and tell you whether the complaint is upheld, and will make a suggestion as to how to deal with the problem.
Once you have received this letter, you must answer it within 28 days, saying whether or not you agree with the suggestions made.
What if I'm not satisfied with the Stage 2 Investigation?
If you are not happy with the suggestions made at the end of Stage 2, or with the way the complaint has been investigated, you can ask for your complaint to go on to Stage 3, which is the final stage of the complaints procedure.
Information about Stage 3 of the Complaints Procedure
What is different about Stage 3?
Once you have asked for your complaint to proceed to Stage 3, your complaint will be passed to the Policy Group, which is one of the groups of people who manage Longfields. The Policy Group will be kept informed of what is happening with your complaint, and will make the final decision about whether Longfields has done as much as it can to sort the problem out.
At this stage, 3 Independent Persons will be asked to look at the complaint and check back over what has been done so far. An Independent Person is someone who is not employed by Longfields. They also cannot be a member of the Management Committee, or have any relatives or friends who come to Longfields, or who are involved in the complaint in any way. They will have a lot of knowledge and experience of investigating complaints and of community care services. Their job is to check that the complaint has been investigated properly and fairly, so that you can be sure that everything is being done properly and is above board.
What will happen at Stage 3?
The 3 Independent Persons will either:
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tell the Policy Group that they have checked back over what has been done so far and that they feel that the investigation has been carried out properly, and that the Association cannot help with your complaint any further. If this happens, the Policy group will write and inform you of this, and of the places you can contact if you wish to take your complaint further.
or
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decide that they need to carry out some more investigations, in which case they will write to you and tell you this, and tell you how long it will take. The investigations should not normally take longer than 28 days.
Will I be interviewed again?
By now, you and the person who attends Longfields may have been interviewed a few times about your complaint. Longfields realises that this can be quite stressful, so the people investigating at Stage 3 should not normally carry out any further interviews unless there is a very good reason to do so, and they should not keep asking you the same questions which you have already answered in other interviews. Sometimes, though, there may be very important information which they feel is missing from the earlier investigations, and they may need to see you to get that information.
You and the person who attends Longfields can have someone with you during your interviews, if you wish, to give you support or to help you to make your opinions known. If you want to do this, make sure you let the Independent Persons know and they will help to arrange it.
What happens next?
Once they have all the information they need, the Independent Persons will write a report for the Policy Group, telling them what they think should happen. You will be told when the Policy group will be meeting to consider your complaint, and you, the service-user and anyone you may wish to have to support or represent you may come to that meeting and speak to the Policy Group, giving them your point of view. You can also hear the reports given by the Independent Persons, but you will not be allowed to remain in the room while the Policy Group makes its decision.
Once they have decided what to do, the Policy group will write to you and let you know whether your complaint is upheld or not, and, if it is upheld, they will make a suggestion about how to solve it.
The Policy group will ask you to reply to the letter within 7 days saying whether you agree with what they have said.
What if I am still unhappy with the situation?
If Longfields is unable to resolve your complaint, there are other places which you can take your complaint to. These include the City and County of Swansea Social Services Department, the Local Government Ombudsman, and the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales. When Longfields write to tell you that they cannot help you any further with your complaint, they must give you information about how to contact these places so that you can take your complaint further if you wish.