See also: Complaint Form
(Approved by general management on February 22, 2020)
The Centre considers all complaints from the public with care, respect and confidentiality in order to improve the quality of its services.
This policy also applies to all stakeholders of the Centre, including those who are members of a professional order and who could be the subject of complaints for misconduct, incompetence or professional incapacity or complaints concerning the services of the Centre.
1) The Centre must inform clients of the existence of this directive and procedure. The Centre gives a copy to any client who requests it.
2) Every client must give his consent before any confidential information is shared with a third party about the facts contained in the complaint
3) The complaint can be written or verbal. A verbal complaint receives a verbal response, a written complaint a written response.
4) The handling of complaints is the initial responsibility of the Director of the service.
5) If possible, an informal agreement should be sought between the client / complainant and the employee concerned, before applying the formal procedures.
6) The Centre analyzes each complaint impartially and individually, investigates and concludes the complaint within a reasonable time so as not to delay appropriate interventions for the client or cause undue stress to the employee concerned.
All complaints are initially forwarded to the Director of the service involved.
a) The sector’s Director establishes whether the complainant has discussed the problem with the employee concerned. If not, he encourages him to do so, or, if the client prefers, the sector’s Director can step in from the start.
b) If the complainant is not satisfied with the conversation, he or she may request further intervention from the sector’s Director.
c) The Director of the service completes the complaint form (attached) when intervening in the settlement of an admissible complaint, by telephone or in person.
d) The service Director sends a copy of the complaint form to the employee’s supervisor and a copy to the employee involved no later than 7 days after the incident.
e) The employee completes the section provided for this purpose and offers an explanation surrounding the circumstances of the complaint and solutions to the problem. He gives this completed section to his supervisor no later than 7 days after receiving it.
f) The supervisor in question reviews the information gathered and determines if any action needs to be taken. In the event of a complaint relating to the services of a professional worker, he may elicit opinions and suggestions from other employees or professional worker of the centre. If the supervisor requires outside advice, the client must sign a consent to share information. He informs the Executive Director of his procedures and the measures to be taken.
g) The Director of the service concerned communicates the results of its procedures to the complainant and gives a copy of the completed form to the worker.
h) If the issue is not resolved to the complainant's satisfaction, it is their responsibility to take further action. The Executive Director will advise the client of the possible options, such as submitting a complaint to the chair of the board of directors, and / or to the College or Professional Order of the stakeholder concerned.
All complaints are initially sent to the Director of the service concerned.
i. The service Director completes the complaint form when it receives an admissible written complaint.
ii. The sector’s Director sends a copy of the complaint form to the employee's supervisor and a copy to the employee involved no later than 7 days after receipt of the written complaint. The Director attaches a copy of the complainant's letter.
iii. An acknowledgment of receipt is sent to the complainant less than 72 hours after receipt of the complaint.
iv. The employee involved must complete the section provided for this purpose and offer explanations as to the circumstances of the complaint and solutions to the problem to his supervisor. He gives this completed section to his supervisor no later than 7 days after receiving it.
v. The relevant supervisor reviews the information gathered and determines if any action needs to be taken. He can obtain the opinion of other professional worker of the center. He informs the Director of the service of his procedures and the measures to be taken.
vi. The sector’s Director informs the client in writing of the resolution of the complaint and of the options available if the client is not satisfied, such as submitting a complaint to the chair of the board of directors, and / or to the College or the professional order of the worker concerned.
vii. The service Director informs the Executive Director of the complaint at all times.
viii. If the problem is not resolved to the complainant's satisfaction, the complainant can contact the Executive Director who must respond. If the client is not satisfied with the steps taken by the Executive Director, he can contact the chair of the Board of Directors. When a client is not satisfied with the steps taken by the Executive Director, the latter informs the executive committee of the board of directors at the next committee meeting.
ix. In these cases, the Executive Committee, on behalf of the Board of Directors, will determine the appropriate resolution to the complaint. This resolution is final and is communicated to the complainant and to the Executive Director by the chair of the board of directors.
x. Clients are encouraged to use the complaints procedure. However, in some circumstances this procedure is inappropriate and the following procedures will be followed:
- When the complainant refuses to follow the steps mentioned above and wants to communicate directly with the board of directors:
- he is referred directly to the Executive Director, which informs him of the steps to follow to make a formal complaint;
- he must submit a written complaint to the chair of the board of directors detailing the source of his dissatisfaction;
- if the complaint has not been submitted to the Executive Director for resolution, the chair of the board of directors refers the complaint to the Executive Director;
- if the complainant is not satisfied with the resolution of his complaint by the Executive Director, the chair of the board submits it to the executive committee of the board of directors for analysis and resolution.
When the complainant is agitated and the interveners do not feel comfortable collecting basic information from the client, senior management, or their substitute, is called upon to intervene immediately.
Following discussions with the supervisor of the professional worker, and if there is sufficient or possible evidence of professional misconduct, incompetence or professional incapacity, the Director of the service will proceed as follows:
i. asks the professional worker to prepare a written response regarding the particular incident;
ii. informs the professional worker that he has the right to receive legal advice;
iii. inform the Executive Director, which will inform the executive committee of the board of directors of the alleged incident and of the measures taken to this effect;
iv. generates legal advice and decides how to proceed with the analysis of the claims.
During this analysis, including, if required, the involvement of the College or professional order concerned, the professional worker may be suspended.
Once the analysis is complete, and depending on the results and damage caused either to the complainant, to the professional worker, or to the Centre, the Executive Director will proceed according to the following options and procedures:
. reconfirm the professional worker in his functions with or without restriction;
. impose a leave associated with compulsory training or therapy;
. implement progressive disciplinary measures
(See the Directive on Disciplinary Measures)
If the result is the dismissal of the professional worker, the Executive Director must prepare a report and send it to the College or the appropriate professional Order within 30 days of the dismissal or according to the rules in force for said College or professional Order.
When a client announces verbally or in writing his intention to take legal action against the Centre or a member of its staff, the Executive Director must be immediately informed.
Upon receipt of such information, the Executive Director must as soon as possible inform in writing the professional worker involved and the Centre’s Insurance Company applicable to the worker involved of the notice of prosecution, following the instructions found in the Centre's insurance policy.
In general, when there has been an error reasonably likely to call into question his professional liability towards a client, the practitioner must immediately notify his insurer of the possibility of a claim.
All staff members are required to cooperate fully, to provide all relevant information regarding the lawsuit to the Insurance Company, its representatives and its lawyers.
Through their complaint committees, these colleges and professional orders study specific complaints concerning their members and deal with them in accordance with applicable laws.
For example, health care committees are governed by the Health Disciplinary Act, and / or the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.
6. Violence, harassment and discrimination
The Board of Directors has a specific policy for the circumstances of violence, harassment and discrimination. In these cases, board policy should be followed.