Complaints Policy.

Approved: February 17, 2016

Updated: May, 2022

PURPOSE:

This policy applies to external complaints received by Canadian Mental Health Association South Okanagan Similkameen (CMHA SOS) about our activities, programs, services, products, staff, contractors, consultants or volunteers.

This policy is intended to ensure complaints received by CMHA SOS by any of our stakeholders are responded to in a prompt, fair and respectable manner.

This policy does not apply to:

• Persons or organizations that may be in disagreement with CMHA SOS mission and activities and decisions undertaken by us to carry out our mission. In these instances, feedback will be received and will be appropriately shared within CMHA SOS, and responded to.
• Persons or organizations that have a complaints about one of CMHA-SOS locations.
• Anonymous complaints, such as those received through feedback surveys or comment boxes, where insufficient or no contact information is provided.
• Internal complaints.

POLICY:

Definition

A complaint is the expression of dissatisfaction about the service, actions, or lack of action by CMHA-SOS as an organization or by a staff member or volunteer acting on behalf of CMHA-SOS. To be considered a complaint, it must be submitted in writing and include a name, date, signature details of the complaint and the desired recourse.

Examples include but are not limited to:

• Perceived failure to do something agreed upon;
• Failure to observe policy or procedures;
• Error made by a staff member/volunteer; or
• Unfair or discourteous actions/statements by staff member/volunteer;

Ensuring privacy

Subject to CMHA SOS Privacy Policy, personal information of anyone submitting a complaint will be handled sensitively and disclosed only to those appropriate individuals at CMHA SOS for the purposes of responding to and resolving the complaint.

Reporting of complaints

An annual report including the number, type and disposition of written complaints received will be made by the Executive Director to CMHA SOS Board of Directors.