Service User Guide Part 5
Complaints and Compliments
Who is the Consortiums Complaints and Compliments Procedure for?
Anybody can use this information to make complaints or give compliments. You could be a:
Service User, or a friend or family member of a service user.
Consortium staff member, or someone working for another organisation.
Member of the public.
What are Complaints and Compliments?
Complaints
A Complaint is when you tell somebody about something that makes you unhappy or upset, and ask them to help you sort it out.
If you make a complaint, you want the Consortium to listen to you and tell you what they are going to do about your complaint.
You want the Consortium to treat you fairly and keep you safe if you make a complaint especially if you are complaining about the person who manages your service.
Compliments
A compliment is whenyou tell someone when the Consortium has done something that makes you happy or pleased.
You can tell any Consortium manager or staff and they will write your compliment down and keep a copy.
Complaints and Compliments help the Consortium to make its services better
The Consortium wants to be told when someone is unhappy with its service and when things need to improve.
It is disappointing when we do not do well, however only by sorting these things out will we get better
Like everybody we always like getting compliments.
A note to staff members who are making a complaint
The Consortium wants to have one complaints procedure for everybody involved in the Consortium; this is so that our policy is clear and known by everyone.
Staff make different types of complaints, some of these change the way complaints are managed
Whistle-blowing
If you have a concern about the treatment of a service user you should follow our Whistle Blowing procedure which makes it your duty:
- To report any concerns you may have in relation to abuse or inappropriate care.
This policy gives you a wide range of people you can speak to about your concern both inside and outside the Consortium
Unfair Treatment
Where you are unhappy with the way that you have been treated by a staff member or the Consortium, it is likely that we will try to resolve this by either mediation or through the use of our grievance procedure. If this is the case you should speak to somebody inside the Consortium, such as a manager, a UNISON Steward, a colleague or a Fair Treatment Advisor. You might wish to speak to our independent Employee Assistance Programme.
If in Doubt Speak Out
Speaking to someone from the Consortium
If you are unhappy and want to tell someone about your complaint, or when you think something is good, you can talk to a member of staff at any time.
You can also tell staff if you are happy or not happy at any time, or during a meeting about you.
You might want to get help to speak to staff from your friends, family, your Social Worker or Community Nurse or someone else that you trust.
Speaking to somebody outside the Consortium
You don't have to speak to Consortium staff if you are unhappy about something. You can speak to somebody who doesn't work for the Consortium and ask them to look at your complaint.
There are people you can talk to, they are listed at the end of this page.
Should you tell your complaint to Consortium staff or to somebody who does not work for the Consortium
It is your choice whether you speak to Consortium staff or somebody who does not work for the Consortium
We would suggest that it is best to speak to somebody who does not work for the Consortium if:
- it is something that has happened before and the Consortium has not sorted it out in the way you want
- It is about something that has seriously upset you or somebody else or put them at risk
- The problem has stopped you trusting the Consortium and you feel they will not treat you fairly
This is very important if this is the manager of the service that you, or someone you care about, use.
Speaking to somebody who works for the Consortium
If you want to talk to staff that work with you
Speak to a Consortium staff member you know well. They will listen to your complaint and write it down so that you can be sure that we have understood your complaint.
They will work with a Contract Manager to sort out your complaint. They will come to you within 14 days to agree with you how they will sort out your complaint.
They will write down what you have agreed in a way you can understand. 
If it cannot be sorted out within 14 days they may come back to you and agree another 14 days.
If you want to speak to someone at the Consortium office
If you are unhappy with how staff who work with you have dealt wtih your complaint, of if you don't want to talk to staff who work with you, you can speak to the Consortium Director.
You can telephone the Consortium and ask to speak to the Director, the telephone number to call is:
01792 646640
The Director will ask a Manager to sort out your complaint. They will come back to you within 14 days to agree with you how they will sort out your complaint.
They will write down what you have agreed in a way you can understand so that you know that we have understood your complaint.
Once they have looked at your complaint they will meet with you again to explain what they have done to ensure you are happy with how your complaint has been sorted out.
If your complaint cannot be sorted out within 14 days they may come back to you and agree another 14 days.
Speaking to somebody outside of the Consortium
If you are unhappy with how the Consortium has dealt with your complaint, or if you don’t want to speak to the Consortium about your complaint, you can speak to somebody outside of the Consortium.
Please tell the Consortium Director that you want to speak to somebody outside the Consortium.
The Director will ask the Management Committee to agree with you somebody who does not work for the Consortium to look at your complaint.
What will happen then?
This person will look into your complaint.
They will meet with you and make sure we understand your complaint. They may meet with other people involved in your complaint.
They may look at reports or information that will help to show what happened.
They will then write a report about what has happened and what has happened and what the Consortium should do to sort out your complaint.
They will write down what you have agreed in a way you can understand and meet with you to explain what we have done to resolve your complaint.
They will tell you how they think the Consortium should sort out your complaint within 35 days. If they need more time they will tell the CSSIW why it will take longer
Who else may get involved with my complaint?
Sometimes other organisations may get involved with complaints. This could be because:
Staff involved in your complaint may be investigated by us to see if disciplinary action is necessary.
This means that they may receive a warning from us or in the most serious cases we may stop them working for the Consortium.
The Police may become involved, if the law has been broken.
Social Services may investigate if somebody may have been abused.
This could mean that somebody may have been hit, spoken to unkindly, or shouted at. It could also mean that somebody has taken their things or money.
If other agencies become involved the Consortium may need to stop looking at your complaint while these other people are involved.
If this happens the manager involved in your complaint will explain this to you.
They will record the reason why this is happening and when we expect to be able to start to look at your complaint again.
Who are the other people outside the Consortium you can make a complaint to?
You can make your complaints to:
Care and Social Services Inspectorate of Wales (CSSIW)
The CSSIW are a department of the Welsh Assembly and are responsible for making sure that The Consortium provides a good service to Service Users.
If you want to you can tell the CSSIW at any time when you are happy or unhappy with your service or home.
South West Wales Regional Office, Unit C and D, Tawe Business Village, Swansea Enterprise Park, Swansea, SA7 9LA, 01792 310420
Help and advice you can get from Social Services
There is a leaflet telling people how to make a complaint to the Social Services Department. You can ask Consortium Staff, Social Workers or Community Nurses to get you a copy of this leaflet.
Swansea Social Services
01792 636000
Neath and Port Talbot - Social Services
01639 764612
Help and advice you can get from other people outside the Consortium
If you don’t want to complain to someone at The Consortium, CSSIW or Social Services, you can get help from these organisations: -
Mencap Cymru - 0808 800 300
Swansea People First - 01792 467676
NPT People First -
01639 646222
Swansea Participation Service - 01792 653666
