Family Concerns

“Western Care Association exists to empower people with learning and associated disabilities in Mayo to lead full and satisfied lives as equal citizens “

 

Our aim is to address the outcomes that people want from services.  Families have told us through surveys and interviews that, while most people are satisfied most of the time, there are other times when this is not the case. Families have also said that it is not always easy to bring forward a concern or make a complaint.  We hope this procedure will help families to communicate with the Association in a way that overcomes such concerns.

If I am not satisfied with the service, what do I do?
We would encourage you to talk to the staff who work directly with you as this is usually the best way to raise an issue or concern and have it resolved informally.

If I can’t bring my concern directly to the front line staff, what do I do?
If you feel you cannot address the issue with the front line staff with whom you have the most regular contact, then there is a more formal process.
You can either:
  (a)    Contact the person responsible for managing the service or department
  (b)    Phone the Director of Services' office on (094) 9029169 or send an email. The Director of Services will assign a manager to address the complaint or, in specific circumstances, the Director may choose to address it directly.
 
What will happen then?
You will receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within forty eight hours. The person responsible for addressing the complaint will undertake some preliminary enquiries before they give a more considered response. The length of time it takes to resolve a complaint will depend on the nature of the issues involved. The manager responsible for addressing the complaint will clarify this with you in their initial response. They will discuss the steps involved in managing the complaint so that you are informed of the process.

What happens if I am not satisfied with the response to my complaint?
If you are not satisfied, you can appeal the response to the Director of Services and ultimately to the Executive Director.

What can I expect from Western Care?

Listening:  We will listen to your concerns and ensure that your voice will be heard.  The issues you raise represent opportunities for us to improve overall satisfaction with the service offered to all service users.

Responsiveness:  Even if we can’t meet your request - for example because of resource limitations, we appreciate that the way the issue is handled by staff will clearly illustrate to you how seriously we take our responsibility – our goal is to be, and be viewed as, a responsive service.

Reassurance:  We want to reassure you that we will work with you to sensitively and speedily resolve your concerns, given this as a means of improving our services overall.  

 

Feedback:  You will be informed from the outset on how your complaint will be addressed, who will contact you and what the next steps are.  You will receive feedback on the progress about the complaint.

Learning:  An issue raised, a comment or a formal complaint represents opportunities for the service to learn what improvements need to be made in the way we do things.

Additional Safeguards
The Rights Review Committee (composed of independent external representatives, family representatives and members of staff) will review all formal complaints periodically to determine how well the procedure is working and consider what we can learn as an organisation from the issues and complaints brought to our attention through this process.