Quality Assurance

Complaint Process for People Who Receive Support and their Families, Guardians and/or Advocates and the General Public

The Elmira District Community Living is committed to maintaining quality and excellence in services. In order to do this, there must be an established culture of open, supportive communication. We take all complaints seriously and will investigate and review all matters.

Complaint Procedure plain language document: Complaint Form – Plain Language

Reporting a Complaint:

1. A complaint may be brought forward by anyone supported by EDCL, a family member or person acting on behalf of the person supported, or the general public.
2. A complaint may be brought forward to any representative of EDCL that the complainant is comfortable reporting to, and may be provided in any format i.e. written or verbal. The Complaint form will be completed.
3. If a complaint is received verbally by a supported person or a person acting on their behalf, then the person receiving the complaint will document all details on Section A of the Complaint form with details as listed; the nature of the complaint, the date of the complaint, date reported and who it was reported to. It will then go to Senior Management in order that an investigation, as needed may be conducted.
4. If the complaint constitutes anything that may be alleged, suspected or witnessed abuse then the Prevention and Investigation of Mistreatment or Abuse policy will be followed.
5. A Serious Occurrence Report will be filed based on the nature of the complaint.
6. If it is a complaint regarding accessibility, the Accessibility policy will be followed.

Investigation of a Complaint:

1. The person making the complaint will be interviewed, with a family or friend present if requested and available, by two members of the Management team, as long as neither are the subject of the complaint and there is no conflict of interest. Ensuring that there is no conflict of interest applies to anyone providing feedback as well.
2. This investigation will occur as soon as possible but within three business days of the complaint coming forward at the very most.
3. All information is taken seriously, is investigated thoroughly, documented and kept confidential. The complainant will be reminded that their role is also to maintain confidentiality and all parties involved will be asked to sign a statement of confidentiality (where able).
4. All reasonable attempts will be made to resolve the matter to the mutual satisfaction of all those involved.
5. This association will not attempt to resolve complaints that may be deemed frivolous or vexatious.

Response to Complaint:

1. Section C of the Complaint Form will be completed to show the findings, actions taken and recommendations. The person who made the complaint will be notified of the outcome, as soon as possible after the complaint has been resolved, or within 7 days. The findings will be provided to the complainant in a manner that can be understood, so that a discussion can happen around everyone’s role and responsibilities around the complaint and to ensure that their questions are answered. The complainant will receive a letter indicating the outcome. If the complainant is a person supported the outcome will be provided verbally and documented.
2. Where a complaint is not resolved, it will be referred to the Executive Director and/or the Board of Directors. If there is still no resolution it may be referred to MCCSS and contact information will be provided.
3. EDCL will ensure that a person who submits a complaint or provides feedback is not at risk of having their services and supports impacted in a negative manner or withdrawn, as a consequence of submitting the complaint/feedback, and EDCL will make the person aware that their services will not be impacted in any way.

Review Process:

1. Management will review and analyze complaints and feedback annually to evaluate the effectiveness of this policy as well as the complaint process.
2. The Services Director will review the complaints annually with the Client Advocacy Committee to determine any trends, areas that need improvement and the actions taken. This information is forward to the Board of Directors.
3. The review process will be free of any coercion or intimidation or bias, either before, during or after the review.

All employees of EDCL are expected to treat one another, supported persons and members of the public, with mutual respect.   We will work to ensure a workplace free from harassment and bullying by encouraging respectful behavior, policy implementation, training and promptly taking steps to investigate and rectify any inappropriate behavior. Inappropriate behaviours in the workplace that amount to bullying, harassment or violence will not be tolerated.