Consumer complaints policy and procedure
1 Purpose
Brackenridge is committed to an effective and fair complaints system. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that any complaints received are resolved in a fair and satisfactory manner and meet the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights and associated legislation.
2 Principles
Brackenridge supports people to create great lives of their choosing. We aim to provide high-quality person-centred services.
Brackenridge managers and staff welcome comments, suggestions and complaints from all people including clients, their family / whānau members, welfare guardians and staff about the safety and quality of care and support we provide. Complaints are seen as an opportunity to examine service quality and facilitate service improvements.
People who are supported by Brackenridge can expect staff to listen to comments, suggestions, and complaints and to act constructively with that information. They can also expect to be informed about the complaint process including how and who to complain to, should they wish to make a complaint. Information on the complaint procedure is provided to clients and their family / whānau on accessing Brackenridge services and as necessary thereafter.
Managers and staff are expected to attempt to resolve complaints and concerns at the point of service wherever possible and within the scope of their role and responsibility.
Brackenridge is committed to the identification, follow up and satisfactory resolution of all complaints received.
Brackenridge, in support of its culture of openness and willingness to learn from complaints, will work to ensure all communication meet the Brackenridge Open Disclosure Policy and Communications Policy, providing clear and timely information to all parties and in line with Right 6 of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights. This provides all consumers the right to be fully informed (i.e., to receive the information that a reasonable consumer in his or her situation would expect to receive). Consumers have a right to understand what has happened to them.
Everybody who receives a health and disability service is covered by the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights 1996.
Rights under this code include a right to:
a) Be treated with respect
b) Be treated fairly
c) Be treated with dignity and independence
d) Proper Standards
e) Communication: Be told things in a way they can understand.
f) Information: Be told about their health or disability and to make choices about. their care and support.
g) Decide: being able to say no or change their mind.
h) Support: having someone with them for support.
i) Teaching and Research: all these rights apply when taking part in any teaching or research.
j) Make a complaint: and not have any adverse effect on the way they are treated.
3 Scope
This policy applies to any person wishing to make a complaint. This includes the person we support, their whānau and family, all Brackenridge staff members, agency staff, volunteers, visiting professionals, students, contractors, or any member of the public.
4 Definitions
a) Complaint - Any expression of dissatisfaction relating to a specific episode of support of an individual, about the service offered or provided which has not been resolved to the complainants’ satisfaction at the origin of the complaint. A complaint may be received in several ways, such as verbal, written, electronic, pictorial, or through a third party including an advocate.
b) Complainant - Person or advocate who makes the complaint.
c) Complainee(s) – Person who the complaint is made against.
d) Sentinel event - Death/ Permanent Harm/ Severe Temporary harm requiring intervention to sustain life or any other event that signals immediate investigation and response
5 Procedures
5.1. Making a complaint
All people using Brackenridge services, family / whānau, staff are made aware of the processes if they wish to make a complaint when the person, we support enters service and at family / whānau meetings. Complaint documents outlining the process are also available in homes.
Every person has the right to make a complaint relating to staff members or services.
Complaints may be received in any form appropriate to the person. Complaints may be written – letter/email/complaint form/or verbal – via telephone/via face-to-face meeting.
A person may make a complaint about Brackenridge to any person authorised to receive complaints about Brackenridge.
Authorised persons include:
a) Support Staff
b) Team Leaders
c) Service Managers/Service Coordinators
d) General Managers
e) Brackenridge CEO
f) Brackenridge Board Chair
g) An independent advocate provided under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994.
h) The Health and Disability Commissioner
5.2. Procedure for making a complaint
Brackenridge operates a quality service for people, and their families. We wish to know if our service does not provide this. If something is not right for you or your family / whānau member, or a person you are supporting please let us know so that we can rectify the matter.
All complaints are investigated so that the rights of both the complainant and the complainee are treated with respect, sensitivity, and confidentiality.
All complaints are handled without prejudice or assumptions about how minor or serious they are. The emphasis is on resolving the problem.
If you see or hear something that you know is not right or makes you feel uncomfortable, please do one of the following:
a) Talk to a staff member or the Team Leader or Service Manager.
If you are not satisfied at that level:
b) Contact the area General Manager or the General Manager Quality, Risk, Strategy or the Chief Executive by phone, email, or letter.
If you are uncomfortable or dissatisfied at that level:
c) Please contact the Chairperson of the Brackenridge Board.
There are other services outside of Brackenridge that offer an independent advocacy service. Some examples are:
Nationwide Health & Disability Advocacy Service
https://advocacy.org.nz/
Health and Disability Commissioner
P O Box 12299
Wellington
Free Phone: 0800 11 22 33
Website: www.hdc.org.nz
5.3. Timeframes
You should expect Brackenridge to deal with your complaint within the following timeframes:
a) Five working days: All complaints are acknowledged in writing within five working days of receipt, (excluding Saturday, Sunday, or Statutory Holidays). If resolved within the five working days, the complaint resolution must also be documented.
b) Twenty working days: All complaints are responded to in full, within 20 working days, or if we are unable to respond within that timescale, then the complainant is informed in writing of the need for further time and the reason for it.
c) If more than twenty working days: Should the process take longer than the original resolution timeframe (twenty working days) then the complainant is given written updates at intervals of not more than twenty working days each.
5.4. Statutory complaints
Statutory complaints such as those received from the Health and Disability Commissioner, or the Privacy Commissioner must meet the timeframes for responses as set and agreed with the relevant statutory office.
5.5. Acknowledgement of complaint
a) Receipt and acknowledgement of a complaint must follow legislative requirements of the Health and Disability Act 1996 and contractual requirements.
b) Brackenridge will facilitate acknowledgement of the complaint within five working days of receipt (unless resolved to the satisfaction of the consumer within that period), and facilitate the fair, speedy and efficient resolution of complaints in line with Right 10 of the Health and Disability Services Consumer’s Rights Code.
c) The complainant must be informed of all stages taken in addressing a complaint.
d) The complainant receives all information held by Brackenridge that is or may be relevant to the complaint.
e) The complainant is informed of any relevant internal/external complaints procedures, including the availability of:
i) Independent advocates provided under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994.
ii) The Health and Disability Commissioner.
5.6. Guidelines for staff involved in resolving complaints
On receipt of a complaint, the staff member is encouraged to:
a) Listen
b) Give no excuses
c) Apologise that the complainant feels that way
d) Ask complainant what their desired outcome is
e) Advise the complainant how to register a complaint:
i) Via written documentation
ii) Via telephone
iii) Via email
iv) Via text message
f) Provide information on who they can make the complaint to.
g) Provide complainant with Complaints Brochure as required.
5.7. Investigating complaints
Once received, a complaint is to be forwarded to a Service Manager within 24 hours of receipt, with a copy to the General Manager Quality, Risk, Strategy. The Service Manager is responsible for fully investigating and resolving the complaint as appropriate. The General Manager Quality, Risk, Strategy is responsible for overseeing the complaint resolution process.
If the Service Manager is unable to resolve the complaint satisfactorily the matter is referred to the General Manager, Service Delivery. If the GM, Service Delivery is unable to resolve the complaint satisfactorily, the matter is referred to the General Manager, Quality, Risk, Strategy and/or the CEO.
If the General Manager, Quality, Risk, Strategy and/or the CEO is unable to resolve the complaint satisfactorily the matter is referred to the Chairperson of Brackenridge Board.
For any complaint received as a result of or leading to a sentinel event, relevant external authorities will be notified to investigate i.e.: Police or other experts / professionals and / or relevant others such as clinicians; specialists or others employed or contracted as required. Along with an internal sentinel event investigation being conducted.
Sentinel event includes:
a) Death / Permanent Harm / Severe Temporary harm requiring intervention to sustain life.
b) Any other event that signals immediate investigation and response.
Where a complaint raises an employment issue, the complaint will be passed on to the relevant General Manager who together with GM People and Culture will decide what action to take. As before, a copy is to also go to the General Manager Quality, Risk and Strategy who will oversee the response process.
5.8. Review of complaints
The Manager receiving the complaint must feel confident that they are clear about all details and must verify all facts as accurate and complete. .
When a complaint is resolved with the Service Manager, the complaint needs to be clarified and documented. The complainant must read and sign the documentation as a true record and as a resolution to the complaint. Relevant documentation is entered on the complaints data base.
When a complaint is not resolved, within five working days of the written acknowledgement, Brackenridge will:
a) Decide whether to accept the complaint as justified or does not accept the complaint as justified or
b) If a decision is made that more time is needed to investigate the complaint:
i) Determine how much additional time is required, and
ii) If that additional time is over twenty working days, inform the complainant of that duration and of the reason for it.
5.9. Outcome of complaints
Complainants are informed of the outcome of any complaint.
As soon as possible and practicable after Brackenridge decides whether or not it accepts that a complaint is justified and the outcome of the complaint, the complainant and all parties involved in the complaint process must be informed of:
a) The reason for the decision.
b) Any actions proposed to be taken.
c) Any appeal procedure Brackenridge has in place.
There may be an appeal by the complainant if the resolution of the complaint is not acceptable to them. If the person is not happy with the outcome, they have the right to have the matter considered by the Health and Disability Commission. The outcome of the complaint will be recorded in the complaint register as upheld, partially upheld, dismissed, or partially dismissed.
5.10. Guidelines for preparation of draft ‘Final Response’ letter
All final response letters should always be tailored to the individual complaint under review but should include the following components:
a) Date
b) Complainant’s name and address
c) Acknowledgement of previous correspondence date and / or state that the investigation has now been completed in relation to the concerns they have raised.
d) When appropriate, state who carried out the investigation and what that involved: i.e., Interview with staff concerned.
e) If a number of specific issues have been raised, address each and every one of these individually, and in chronological order of events.
f) At each stage that it is applicable, state what should have occurred and acknowledge and/or apologise as appropriate for the scenario presented.
g) Document what actions were taken to rectify the issue/s raised and to ensure the safety and well-being of the person(s) concerned.
h) If the findings are quite different to the complainant’s perception of events, then state what was different and how this was confirmed i.e., according to our records or the documentation – state only the facts.
i) Inform the complainant of:
i) The reasons for the decision; and
ii) Any action Brackenridge proposes to take; and
iii) Their right to have the matter considered by the Health and Disability Commission if they are not happy.
j) Finally, state that if there are still concerns for the complainant then they should contact the writer again; inform the complainant of how they may do this - via mail, email, telephone, a meeting request.
k) If after five working days, there is no further contact from the complainant then the complaint will be closed.
5.11. Non-resolution and appeal process
If the complainant is unhappy with an outcome, they are advised of the options available to them:
a) Internal options: Brackenridge Chief Executive to review the process the complaint followed or
b) Chair of the Brackenridge Board to review the process the complaint followed
c) External Options: Advocacy Services and/or Health and Disability Commissioner to review.
5.12. Security and retention of information
All material collected as part of the investigative process is held safely and securely with the Service Manager, or General Manager or the CEO and in accordance with requirements of the Privacy Act 2020. Access is limited to the:
a) Relevant Managers (as appropriate)
b) Investigating Team
Material is retained for a minimum of five years.
5.13. Monitoring and evaluation
The Quality and Practice Manager, Service Delivery prepares monthly reports on the number and type of complaints, the outcomes of complaints, recommendations for change and any subsequent action that has been taken. The reports are provided to the Brackenridge Board, Executive Leadership Team, staff (via Health & Safety / Quality Committee) and managers. Complaints of a critical or significant nature will be notified to the Chair of the Board via the Chief Executive Officer as and when they are notified.
Information about trends in complaints and how individual complaints are resolved is routinely discussed at relevant staff / management meetings as part of reflecting on the performance of the service and opportunities for improvement.
The General Manager, Quality, Risk and Strategy and/or the Quality and Practice Manager will conduct annual reviews of the complaints management system to evaluate if the complaints policy is being complied with and how it measures up against contractual and legislative requirements.
6. Associated documents
Related Brackenridge Policies & Procedures
Open Disclosure Policy
Notification and Responding to Risks Policy
Protected Disclosure Policy
Disciplinary Actions and Dismissal Policy
Theft and Fraud Prevention Policy
Sentinel Events Policy
Child Protection Policy
Privacy Policy
Risk Policy
Informed consent
Incident management
Practice management
Communications Policy
Related Legislation or Other Documentation
Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights 1996 (The Code)
Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard NZS 8134:2021
The Privacy Act 2020
The Health Information Privacy Code 2020
Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1998
Australian Council for Quality and Safety in Health Care 2005
Crimes Act (Including Subsequent Amendments - May 2014) 1961 – Reprint May 2014
Protected Disclosures Act (Including Subsequent Amendments - January 2012) 2000 – Reprint January 2014
Children’s’ Act 2014
Human Rights Act 1993
NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990
Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Act 2003
Care Standards 2021
Contacts at a glance
At Brackenridge we take great care to ensure any complaints received are resolved in a fair and satisfactory manner. Complaints are welcomed as an opportunity to examine service quality and work towards improvements of the service.
Brackenridge is committed to the identification, follow up and satisfactory resolution of complaints received, and to ensure that staff, individuals and family / whānau/whānau are aware of the processes that are in place to lodge a complaint.
People who are supported by Brackenridge can expect staff to listen to complaints and do something about them and be informed who to complain to.
Please refer to the following contact details if you have a complaint or wish to discuss any concerns relating to service provision:
Day to day service-related issues
Adult Services Managers
Please call (03) 926 1999 and ask for relevant service managerYounger Persons Service Manager
0274511210Respite Services Manager
0272127452
Serious Clinical Issues
General Manager, Service Delivery
0273983813
Serious staff related issues
General Manager, People & Culture
0273983818
Serious Property Issues
Property Manager
0278084565
General Issues
General Manager, Quality, Risk, Strategy
0212574803
Serious Management Issues
Chief Executive Officer
0272499080Board Chair c/o EA
Emily.Twemlow@brackenridge.org.nz
Other Contacts
Advocacy Services
(03) 337 7501Health and Disability Commissioner
0800 11 22 33
Any complaints received will be responded to within five working days and following any investigation a more comprehensive response will be provided at regular intervals. Complaints may be made by using the form below or any other written format, via phone, via email or in person.