NCCN Complaints Policy

Introduction

The National Community Care Network (NCCN) was established in 2014 to provide a unified voice on issues addressing the commissioning and delivery of quality home care and community support services.

An essential component of achieving this vision is that the NCCN facilitates the making of complaints and has a follow up process that ensures the speedy investigation and where necessary the application of appropriate corrective action.

All complaints made will be logged and statistics relating to complaints will be a matter of report by the CEO to the Board of Directors. The Chair of the Governance Committee will also provide updates to the NCCN General Meetings.

Complaints will be held on file for a period of three years from the end of the calendar year in which the complaint was made.

The NCCN operates a policy of openness and fairness when dealing with complaints. No person or organisation who makes a complaint will suffer in any way as a result of having so done provided that the complaint is made in good faith.

In the event of false, maliciously motivated or vexatious complaints, NCCN reserves the right to access the normal legal processes in defence of its employees, its members and itself.

In formulating this complaints procedure, NCCN recognises that there is a framework of legislation that governs both the rights and duties of people involved in making and dealing with complaints.

NCCN Complaints Policy

Who may make a complaint?

Any person who represents a member organisation may on their own, or on behalf of the organisation they represent, or any other person who believes that they, or their organisation, have been adversely affected by any action or decision taken by the NCCN or its employees, may make a complaint. Such grounds may include:

Actions taken by a member that is contrary to the NCCN code of conduct
Decisions or actions taken without proper authority
Decisions or actions based on irrelevant grounds
Decisions or actions based on inaccurate or incomplete information
Discrimination of any form
Negligence or carelessness demonstrated by the NCCN or any of its representative / employees
Any other decision or action which is the result of unsound or unfair administration

The NCCN will not accept complaints from service users in respect of failures individual member companies in the provision of home care or community support services. Such complaints must be taken up directly with the member company under their own Complaints Policy.

Time limit for receipt of a complaint

A complaint must be made in writing to the CEO within six months of the action / decision complained of. If the complaint is against the CEO, the complainant should address the matter to the Chair of the Governance Committee of the NCCN.

In exceptional circumstances, the time limit for acceptance of a complaint may be extended by the Board of the NCCN, by a further six months.

NCCN Complaints Policy

Matters excluded from the right to complain

The NCCN will not investigate any complaint that relates to:

a matter that is or has been the subject of legal proceedings before a court or tribunal
a matter relating to the recruitment or appointment of an employee by the NCCN
a matter that could prejudice an investigation being undertaken by An Garda Síochána or the HSE
a matter that has been brought before any other complaints procedure established under an enactment of the Oireachtas
a matter that relates to the actual provision of home care or community support by a member organisation
a matter raised by a person not entitled to make a complaint in accordance with this policy
a matter raised that is outside the permitted time limits set out in this policy
a matter raised by an employee of the NCCN (such complaints will be dealt with under the Grievance Procedure).

Confidentiality

All parties involved in handling a complaint, including the complainant, the respondent, investigators, adjudicators, witnesses and advisors, will maintain absolute confidentiality, both during and after the finalisation of the complaint, and will not discuss the matter with any other party. The only exception to this rule is where such disclosure is required in accordance with law.

The handling of every complaint made will also adhere to Data Protection legislation and any other relevant regulation in force.

NCCN Complaints Policy

Complaints Procedure

Complaints can be made verbally, by phone or in writing (letter or e-mail) and should be addressed to the CEO or to the Chair of the Governance Committee if the CEO is the subject of the complaint.

On receipt of a complaint, the CEO must contact the Chair of the Governance Committee and agree who should be appointed to investigate the complaint. If the CEO is the subject of the complaint, the Chair of the Governance Committee should call a meeting of the Committee within two working days of receipt of the complaint and agree who should be appointed to investigate the complaint.

Any person or persons nominated to investigate a complaint should:

Be of sufficient seniority and experience to conduct the investigation correctly
Be impartial – have no connection with either the complainant or the respondent. If this is not feasible from within the NCCN membership, a suitably qualified external party should be contracted to undertake the investigation
Be fully briefed on the NCCN Complaints procedure, time frames, the importance of confidentiality and be familiar with the principles of natural justice

Where the Governance Committee or the Board of Directors are involved in any stage of this process, any Member of the Committee or any Director, who is in any way conflicted by association with any of the parties to the complaint, or the subject of the complaint, must declare this before any consideration is given to the matter and should exclude himself / herself for any discussion, deliberation or decision in the matter and recuse him / herself entirely from the investigation.

Once a person has been nominated to investigate the complaint (the Investigator), he / she should contact the complainant and respondent within two working days to advise of their role and outline how the matter will be investigated. The investigator must also advise the respondent that a complaint has been made, that he /she is investigating the matter and that the respondent will be provided with full information and the opportunity to respond to the complaint made.

NCCN Complaints Policy

If the matter is not of a serious nature, the investigator will endeavour to resolve the matter informally. However, the complaint should be documented, the investigation summarised, and the outcome / resolution recorded and included in the complaints report provided to the NCCN Board of Directors.

In the case of more serious complaints that are not appropriate to the informal approach, the investigator will take all reasonable steps to determine the facts underpinning any complainant, including interviewing the complainant, the respondent, any relevant witnesses and reviewing any relevant documentation. The investigator must also endeavour to complete the investigation in a timely manner but no later than thirty working days after the complaint was acknowledged. If the investigator believes that more time is needed before he / she can make a determination, the investigator should notify, in writing, the Chair of the Governance Committee and the complainant, advising of the reason(s) for the delay and providing a date by which he / she believes a determination can be made.

Both parties (the complainant and the respondent) will be provided with the investigator’s draft report and will be given five working days to reply. The investigator will consider any points raised by either party and may amend the report where he / she deems this appropriate. The final report will be submitted to the Chair of the Governance Committee and copied to both the complainant and the respondent.

The determination can be either that:

The complaint is upheld, or
The evidence is inconclusive, and a determination cannot be made either way, or
The complaint is unfounded, or
The complaint is unfounded and malicious or was not made in good faith

The Chair of the Governance Committee will call a meeting of the Committee within five working days of receipt of the report and the Committee will agree a recommendation as to appropriate corrective action(s) to address the determination. This may include initiating action against a complainant where it has been determined that the complaint was made maliciously or in bad faith. The Chair of the Governance Committee will advise the complainant and respondent of the final decision, in writing, along with notification of the right to appeal. The Chair of the Committee will also liaise with the CEO, or the relevant Committee Chairs, on any action(s) necessary as a result of the final decision, subject to the outcome of any appeal.

NCCN Complaints Policy

In most instances the respondent (person or organisation – depending on the nature of the complaint) may continue with normal engagement with the NCCN for the duration of the handling of the complaint. However, if the allegation is of such a serious nature, where such continuation may not be appropriate, the respondent, without prejudice, may be suspended from the NCCN for the duration of the investigation. For such suspension to occur, the investigator and the Governance Committee should review the nature of the allegation and make a recommendation to the Chair of the NCCN Board of Directors. The Chair will then convene an emergency meeting of the Board to consider the Governance Committee recommendation. If the Board concur, the Secretary of the Board will write to the person / member organisation representative, advising of the reason for suspension and the expected duration of that suspension. If the complaint is against a specific individual, their organisation will also be advised of their right to nominate a substitute, in accordance with the NCCN rules, to stand in for that person for the duration of the complaint procedure.

Appeals

Any determination may be appealed.

In the case of minor issues that are dealt with informally, either party may appeal the outcome to the Governance Committee. The grounds for the appeal should be set out in writing and forwarded to the Chair of the Governance Committee within five working days of the final decision of the investigator. The Chair will convene a meeting of the Governance Committee within a further five working days to consider the appeal. The Chair of the Governance Committee will convey the decision of the Committee, in writing, to both parties.

In the case of more serious complaints, the decision of the Investigator / Governance Committee may be appealed to the Board of Directors by either party. The grounds for the appeal should be set out in writing and forwarded to the Chair of the Board of Directors within five working days of the final decision of the Investigator / Governance Committee. The Chair of the Board will convene a meeting of the Board of Directors within a further five working days to consider the appeal. The Chair of the Board of Directors will convey the decision of the Board, in writing, to both parties involved and to the Chair of the Governance Committee so that any recommended action(s), and any amendments made on foot of the appeals process, may be implemented.

NCCN Complaints Policy

External Mediation

In the event that a party does not accept the outcome of a determination, or following investigation, it is not possible to make a determination, the assistance of an external mediator may be sought.

All parties involved must agree, in writing, to this approach. The Board of Directors will make the decision on behalf of the NCCN.

The process and timeframe for the mediation will be agreed between the mediator and all the parties concerned. All parties will be bound by the outcome of the mediation process.