Complaints

A complaint can be made by anyone who is subject to a safeguarding process or has applied for or is in receipt of a service, including a carer, or a person acting on their behalf. No service will be delayed, withdrawn or suspended because a complaint has been made. The focus of the complaints procedure is to achieve the best outcome for both the individual concerned and the service and every complaint should be seen as an opportunity to make care better.

Complaints may relate to the following:

• The quality or appropriateness of a service;
• Delays in decision-making or the provision of a service;
• Failure to deliver a service;
• Attitude or behaviour of staff;
• Application of eligibility or assessment criteria.
• Failure in safeguarding processes.

This list is not exhaustive; however the complaints procedure does not apply where:

• The complaint is about the actions of another local authority or an independent provider;
• The complaint is about a Court decision;
• The complaint has already been considered and investigated;
• The complaint is in relation to an event that occurred more than 12 months before (although there is a discretion to extend this time limit for example where there are good reasons why the person was not able to bring the complaint earlier);
• The complaint should be dealt with under court proceedings, criminal proceedings, disciplinary proceedings, grievance proceedings or an application to a tribunal (for example in relation to a decision made by an Approved Mental Health Practitioner).

The RBSAB Complaints Procedure can be found here.