Objectives
1. The BOS aims to ensure that our staff, our members and members of the public are happy with the professional services provided.
2. The BOS recognises however, that mistakes, misunderstandings, delays and other problems can occur. Our Complaints Procedure is designed to ensure that:
(1) BOS users are made aware of our complaints policy and the procedure for
raising their concerns;
(2) complaints are dealt with quickly and effectively;
(3) complaints are analysed to determine what went wrong in order that
weaknesses can be acted on to improve overall performance;
(4) complaints are regularly monitored to assess whether the nature of the
complaints change over time as problems are identified and addressed and
clients’ needs change;
(5) feedback is regularly obtained from members and members of the public
as to whether they have any concerns and whether any such concerns are
being acknowledged and acted on to their satisfaction;
(6) the concerns of the complainant are satisfied.
3. Please note that The BOS will only consider complaints that are raised within six months of the act or omission complained of.
Procedure – Complaints made by telephone
4. Sometimes it is sensible to raise the concern by telephoning us and asking to speak to the CEO or Honorary Secretary. Informal complaints should be made to the CEO or Honorary Secretary in this way. This will usually be the convenient course if something has gone wrong but it is not clear what. The matter of concern may be explained to your satisfaction and involve no fault on the part of the BOS.
In all cases the BOS will make a record of the matter, whether or not it is then resolved to your satisfaction.
5. If the complaint is not resolved on the telephone you will be invited to write to us about it within the next 14 days so that it can be investigated formally.
Procedure – Complaints made in writing
6. A complaint in writing should be made to the CEO or Honorary Secretary. If the complaint is about the CEO or Honorary Secretary, the complaint should go to the Complaints Officer (normally Head of Ethics) or Chairman of the BOS whom have overall responsibility for handling external complaints.
Complaints received by a member or a member of staff will be forwarded to the CEO or Honorary Secretary. We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.
7. When making a complaint in writing, please give the following details:
- which member(s) of the BOS you are complaining about;
- the detail of the complaint;
- what you would like done about it.
8. On receiving a formal complaint the CEO or Honorary Secretary will:
(1) contact you by telephone and/or in writing within fourteen days to
establish the full nature of the complaint and let you know what action is
being proposed;
(2) inform the member or member of staff to whom the complaint relates as
soon as practicable;
(3) if appropriate, inform the Complaints Officer and Chairman of the BOS as
soon as reasonably practicable;
(4) discuss the matter with those who are the subject of the complaint and
carry out such investigations as are deemed necessary to establish whether
the concern or complaint is justified and/or requires further investigation;
(5) inform the GDC if the complaint calls into question a member's fitness to
practise.
9. Where a complaint can be resolved at this stage, the CEO or Honorary Secretary will contact you by telephone or in writing to inform you of the result of the investigation and what further action, if any, is proposed.
10. Where the complaint is not capable of resolution at this stage, the CEO or Honorary Secretary will make a report to the Complaints Officer and Chairman of the BOS who may carry out or request the CEO or Honorary Secretary to carry out further investigations. The BOS will ensure that you are given proper opportunity to make representations in writing and that the member or member of staff is given proper opportunity to respond.
11. If the BOS finds the complaint to be unjustified, the CEO or Honorary Secretary will contact you and the member or member of staff concerned and explain why, following investigation, the complaint was not upheld.
12. If the BOS finds the complaint to be justified, the officers will determine what remedial action is appropriate. The BOS will inform you that the complaint has been investigated, that the complaint was found to be justified and what action is proposed.
Confidentiality
13. All conversations and documents relating to a complaint will be treated as confidential and disclosed only to the extent that it is necessary. Disclosure will be to the Complaints Officer, BOS Chairman, the CEO or Honorary Secretary and to anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation. This will include the member or staff about whom you have complained.
Our policy
14. As part of our commitment to the care of our members, we will make a written record of any complaint and retain all documents and correspondence generated by the complaint for a period of six years.
15. Where a complainant has raised concerns about a particular aspect of the service the CEO or Honorary Secretary may ask the complainant to monitor that aspect over a specified period. In that event, a time will be arranged for the CEO or Honorary Secretary to contact the complainant to establish whether there has been an improvement.
16. We hope that you will use our procedure. However, if you would rather not do so or are unhappy with the outcome, you may take up your complaint with an appropriate body at any time.
Absence of BOS Officers
17. If the CEO or Honorary Secretary, Complaints Officer or Chairman of the BOS shall at any time be unable to deal with any complaint or any aspect of such complaint or the investigation of such complaint, they may delegate such task to a another senior member of the BOS, and any reference in this document to the Chairman of the BOS, CEO or Honorary Secretary shall be held to refer to any senior member of the BOS to whom such task has been delegated.
18. In the absence of the CEO or Honorary Secretary, complaints made by telephone will be handled in the first instance by the Ann Wright, BOS Administrator.
