1.0 OVERVIEW
1.1 STATEMENT OF POLICY
The Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation (RAHF) is committed to maintaining its positive reputation within the community, and as such, encourages external stakeholders, employees and members of the community to voice their concerns with the Foundation.
It is encouraged to contact the RAHF by mail, e-mail or telephone at the coordinates listed in procedure section of this policy. Upon acceptance of the formal complaint, the RAHF VP Finance & Operations and CFO will respond to the stakeholder to acknowledge the complaint and follow procedure towards a reasonable resolution. In cases where complaints involve personal injury or legal risk, the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee will be briefed.
In cases where formal complaints are made to the RAHF regarding medical care and/or services received and/or programs at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH), every effort will be made to ensure patient privacy and confidentiality, and direct concerned parties to the hospital resources.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to define a process for hearing complaints from external stakeholders, employees and members of the community and a procedure by which formal complaints will be addressed and resolved within the abilities of the RAHF.
2.0 APPLICABILITY
2.1 This policy applies to RAHF employees, directors, contractors, volunteers, and agents of RAHF (collectively, “Included Persons”) unless alternate contractual arrangements have been negotiated.
2.2 All included persons are strictly required to comply with the statements established in this RAHF Complaints Policy. Non-compliance may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment or contract.
2.3 Any exceptions to this policy must be formally and thoroughly documented and addressed directly to the RAHF VP Finance & Operations and CFO for approval.
2.4 All queries related to the Complaints Policy should be directed to the RAHF VP Finance & Operations and CFO.
3.0 PROCEDURE
3.1 All included persons are advised to allow complainants to articulate their grievances with the limits of decency and respect. Upon acceptance, the information should be forwarded to our Foundation at foundation@royalalex.org.
3.2 The VP Finance & Operations and CFO will acknowledge the receipt of the complaint within one (1) business day and take steps to resolve the complaint within the reasonable limits.
3.3 The VP Finance & Operations and CFO will determine what reasonable action can be taken to resolve the complaint, and whether or not it is necessary to brief the RAHF Board of Directors on the issue.
3.4 The VP Finance & Operations and CFO will review all formal complaints every six (6) months to determine whether there are frequently recurring complaints of a similar type. If there are, an investigation will be initiated to determine whether there are systemic process issues within the RAHF that need to be addressed to eliminate reoccurring incidences.
3.5 From time to time, the RAHF will receive formal complaints relating to medical care and/or services received and/or programs at the RAH. While the general nature of these complaints may be kept on file for tracking purposes, these concerns should be addressed by immediately passing them on to the RAH Site Executive Director and other members of the Alberta Health Services (AHS) team such as Program Executive Director(s) and/or AHS Patient Relations Department.
3.6 All steps taken for each complaint, including contact and conversations shall be presented to the RAHF Board of Directors for review annually.
4.0 RESPONSIBILITIES
4.1 Complaints Policy Owner
· Owner of the Complaints Policy – President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), acting on behalf of the RAHF Board.
· Responsible and accountable for revisions and updates of this policy on a periodic basis.
· Delegates the responsibility for complaints process documentation and implementation to the VP Finance & Operations and CFO.
4.2 VP Finance & Operations and CFO
· Responsible for the overall coordination and execution of the Complaints Policy.
· Responsible for annual presentation of report to the Board of Directors.
4.3 RAHF Employees and Volunteers
· Responsible for the adherence to Complaints Policy and have a working knowledge of underlying policy procedures.
5.0 Definitions
5.1 Terms
5.1.1 Formal Complaint – Many problems can be resolved often at the time they arise. A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the service, actions or lack of action by the RAHF as an organization or an employee or volunteer acting on behalf of RAHF that is escalated instead of easily resolved through regular day- to-day process.
5.1.2 External Stakeholder – any individual from outside of the RAHF and could be, but not limited to, recipients of the RAHF marketing and communications, suppliers, volunteers, donors, even participants, and sponsors.
References
Internal References
· RAHF Employee Policy Handbook
External References
· Imagine Canada