Help us get it right…
Whilst we commit to provide a quality service for women and children, we also strive to continually improve our service. We welcome and value feedback, which enables us to listen, learn and respond to the views of our service users, stakeholders and other agencies.
We want to hear from you if you have a Compliment, Comment or Complaint about our services
Your compliment, comment, or complaint may be about:
- services we offer
- services you have received
- changes to services
- staff and volunteers
- how helpful we have been
We are keen to listen to feedback regarding what we are doing right and how this is making a difference. This will enable us to give feedback to staff and other key supporters and influence the continued development of our services.
Please email any compliments to feedback@havenrefuge.org.uk
Some feedback may not fall into the compliments or complaints categories, but may still be of equal value. Hearing from you about what you think about our organisation and its staff team will support us to maintain standards and influence decisions for development.
Please email any comments to feedback@havenrefuge.org.uk
We recognise that we do not always get things right, and by responding positively to complaints, we have the opportunity to be restorative in our learning and address any concerns in a timely manner.
We aim to ensure that:
- making a complaint is as easy as possible
- we treat a complaint as a clear expression of dissatisfaction with our service which calls for an immediate response
- we deal with complaints promptly, politely and, when appropriate, confidentially
- we respond in the right way – for example, with an explanation, or an apology where we have got things wrong, or information on any action taken etc;
- we learn from complaints, use them to improve our service, and review annually our complaints policy and procedures.
To aid us with this, we have developed a four stage approach to complaints. This approach enables complaints to be managed appropriately at informal and/or formal stages.
Stage 1: Complaint to allocated Key Worker or Senior Key Worker
Stage 2: Complaint to Service Lead/Manager
Stage 3: Complaint to Senior Management Team
Stage 4: Appeal to the Chief Executive
For a full breakdown of each of these stages, please see Appendix 1 in our full policy available to download below.
At The Haven, we understand that making a formal complaint can be a difficult decision to make, particularly if you are receiving services from us. We want to assure you that if you do make a complaint, we will strive to ensure that you will not be made to feel pressured, uncomfortable or treated less fairly because of it, by any member of our team. If at any point in the complaint procedure you feel that this has happened then you should contact a Senior Manager as soon as possible and this will be investigated immediately.
Feedback through universal and online platforms
Many service users and/or partners wish to leave feedback on universal platforms, such as Google Review, which enables the public to view their feedback. We encourage the use of these platforms for feedback, although we are unable to support complaints via these routes, without further communication.
Where possible, we will reach out to any persons that post online Google reviews, providing opportunities for further discussion. We particularly encourage service users to seek resolution through a complaints process. This provides service users with a formal channel to have their voice heard and for The Haven Wolverhampton to formally manage any matters/actions.
Where reviews indicate concerns with a safeguarding and/or criminal element, service users will be directed to contact a named member of staff to support further.
We urge individuals to use caution and consider safety when leaving feedback on any universal online platforms. Often there is a requirement to submit personal identifying details, leaving an online footprint which may be accessible to others.
Quality monitoring
In line with The Haven Wolverhampton values and the Charity Governance Code, we review all feedback at a senior management and governance level.
Feedback data is collated for Trustee board at quarterly reviews. Feedback and online reviews have ongoing senior management oversight, which enables timely response and contributes to a learning organisation.
All organisations and agencies that work with children share an obligation to safeguard and promote their welfare. For many organisations, this commitment is underpinned by specific statutory duties.
The Haven has a duty under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 to share any safeguarding concerns with the Local Authority and promote the welfare of children.
The Haven has a responsibility to adult safeguarding as defined within The Care Act 2014. This may include anyone ‘Aged 18 years or over; Who may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation’