Complaints Policy for Members of the Public

1. Purpose

Rossbrook House is committed to respecting the rights of all its stakeholders, including participants, families, Board members, donors, employees and volunteers. Posted on the Rossbrook House website home page, this policy and procedure applies to complaints received by Rossbrook House about its activities, programs, services, staff or volunteers.

2. Definition

Rossbrook House believes that every stakeholder has the right to address concerns and complaints through a defined process, with confidence that such concerns or complaints will be dealt with in a timely, fair, respectful and accountable manner. For purposes of this policy, a complaint is defined as an expression of dissatisfaction about the service, actions, or lack of action by Rossbrook House as an organization or by a staff member or a volunteer acting on behalf of Rossbrook House.

Examples include but are not limited to:

  • perceived failure to do something agreed upon;
  • failure to observe policy or procedures;
  • error made by a staff member/volunteer; or
  • unfair or discourteous actions/statements by staff member/volunteer.

3. Procedure

Anyone personally affected, including family members / caregivers, can submit their complaint and it will be reviewed in accordance with the following procedure:

    1. Ideally, all complaints can be resolved by open and honest dialogue. If you have a complaint, you are encouraged to speak directly with the staff person or volunteer who is most connected to the situation and strive to come to a mutually respectful and satisfactory resolution.
    2. If you have been unable to reach a resolution through less formal means or are uncomfortable with speaking directly to the staff person or volunteer, you can call 204-949-4090 or submit a complaint in writing, either by regular mail addressed to 658 Ross Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3A 0M1, or by e-mail to privacy@rossbrookhouse.ca.
    3. The Executive Director will review the disposition of all complaints in a timely way.
    4. If the complaint relates to the Executive Director, it may be directed to the President of the Board of Directors. If the complaint relates to the President of the Board of Directors, it may be directed to another board member.
    5. Once the complaint is received, it will be documented along with your name and contact information, the date, a description of the complaint, what you request to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, and the final resolution or decision. You will be kept informed if there are more steps involved in addressing your specific concern or complaint.
    6. Rossbrook House will address concerns and complaints in a timely way and, to the extent possible, in a confidential manner. Every effort will be made to investigate and respond to a complaint within thirty (30) days. Rossbrook House will only give information to those people necessary for the investigation and resolution of the complaint and only to the extent necessary.
    7. There will be no repercussions to any person bringing forward a complaint in good faith.
    8. All Rossbrook House employees have a responsibility to have a working knowledge of the complaint resolution process and to cooperate with the investigation and processing of complaints.
    9. The Executive Director is ultimately responsible for ensuring that conflicts involving staff and volunteers are resolved in a satisfactory manner. The Executive Director has a duty to inform the board, in a timely way, of any conflicts that impinge on the organization’s ability to function or may damage its reputation. At minimum, a summary of complaints received including number, type and disposition of the concerns and complaints received will be reported annually by the Executive Director to the Board of Directors.

4. Review

This policy and its related procedures will be reviewed every three years or as required in the event of legislative changes.