Who can give feedback?
You may provide feedback if you:
- Are currently receiving support from Richmond Fellowship or Aquarius
- Have used our services in the past
- Are related to someone who is currently
- Using or has used Richmond Fellowship or Aquarius' services in the past
- Are a friend, loved one or colleague of someone who is currently using/has used Richmond Fellowship or Aquarius' services
- Referred someone to one of our services
- Work for one of our partner organisations.
What if I want to make a complaint?
You have the right to make a complaint if you're not happy about any aspect of your support package or accommodation.
There are a number of ways to do this and you do not have to speak with members of staff at the service you use if you don’t want to.
Informal complaints
Initially we’ll try to resolve your complaint locally on an informal basis as we’ve found that most issues can be resolved quickly this way.
To do this you can speak with a member of staff at your service and ask to raise the issue with them. You can bring someone along to support you with raising your concerns if you wish.
We treat all complaints seriously and our local team will work with you to attempt to resolve your concerns in a satisfactory manner.
Satisfaction
If you’re not satisfied with the outcome of an informal complaint, then you can make a formal complaint which will be dealt with at a more senior level.
We can also support you in contacting a local advice agency or advocacy service if you need help to do this.
There are 2 stages to our compaints process
Stage 1
Write or speak to the Service Manager or Area Manager of your service, giving details of your complaint. They will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days.
You’ll receive a formal response in writing within ten working days explaining whether your complaint has been upheld and if so, what we’re doing to remedy the situation.
Stage 2 - appeal)
If you’re not happy with the response you get at stage 1, you can make an appeal.
Contact our Performance, Quality and Innovation department and they will pass your appeal to the director of the relevant department. You should do this within ten working days of receiving our response to your concerns at stage 1.
You’ll need to outline in writing the basis of your appeal, if new information has come to light or if you don’t think we followed due process.
You will receive an acknowledgment of your appeal within three working days.
You’ll receive a formal response in writing within ten working days explaining whether your appeal has been upheld and if so, what steps we’ll be taking to remedy the situation.
External complaints
If you’ve gone through stages one and two of our formal complaints process and are still not satisfied with our responses, you can contact the relevant independent agency with your concerns.
If your support is funded by your local authority, you should contact:
The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman
Tel: 0300 061 0614 or via www.lgo.org.uk
If you are a tenant, you should contact:
The Housing Ombudsman
Tel: 0300 111 3000 or via www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk / info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Contact service commissioners
The funders of the service are usually referred to as the commissioners. The address and contact telephone numbers for these organisations can be obtained from the staff members.
How can I give feedback?
For Richmond Fellowship, via email to: complaintsandfeedback@richmondfellowship.org.uk.
For Aquarius, via email to: headoffice@aquarius.org.uk.
If you've received a particularly good service from a specific member of staff or team at Richmond Fellowship or Aquarius, please do tell them or tell us their name and the service they work at and we will make sure they get your personal feedback.