Bluewater Area Family Health Team

Intent

Bluewater Area Family Health Team seeks to continually provide a welcoming and comfortable environment which ensures trust and respect for all clients, visitors, staff, and volunteers. Bluewater Area Family Health Team strives to provide clients with a safe environment to grieve, regardless of culture or religious beliefs. In order to maintain our longstanding reputation in the community, we have established this Client/Customer Code of Conduct Policy to specify our expectations.

Guidelines

Expectations of our Clients

All clients of Bluewater Area Family Health Team are expected to treat our employees, other clients and visitors with the utmost respect and dignity while on company property. Bluewater Area Family Health Team strictly forbids discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, colour, national origin, religion, creed, s*x, age, physical, mental or developmental disability, marital status, s*xual orientation, political ideology or any other reason. Harassment may include unsolicited or unwelcome remarks, gestures, or physical contact, as well as the display or circulation of inappropriate or derogatory written materials or pictures.

The following is a list of behaviours that will not be tolerated:

Physical violence;

Verbal abuse;

Profanity;

Any form of harassment;

Intimidation tactics and/or making threats;

Malicious or harmful statements about others;

Public disclosure of another's private information;

Possession of dangerous or unauthorized material; and

Solicitation, purchase or selling of illegal substances.

Clients and/or visitors who appear to be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs may be asked to leave the premises.

Violations

Of paramount importance to Bluewater Area Family Health Team is the safety and security of its employees, clients and visitors. This policy is strictly enforced and non-compliance will result in corrective measures being undertaken.

The Executive Director and staff of Bluewater Area Family Health Team reserve the right to exclude any person from accessing services as a consequence of violating this policy.

Client Complaints

At Bluewater Area Family Health Team, we value our clients and what they have to say about the service they receive. We take all complaints seriously as they assist us to improve our products, services and client service.

We are committed to consistent, fair and confidential complaint handling and to resolving complaints as quickly as possible. We aim to make it easy for people to make a complaint if they are dissatisfied and we will treat all clients making a complaint equally.

Recording Procedure

All complaints made, whether verbal or written, will be recorded at the time the complaint is made, or as soon as possible afterwards. The complaint should be recorded by the staff member who took the details. The Executive Director will be made aware of the complaint.

When taking a complaint, staff will record the name and contact details of the client, as well as full details of the complaint including the date. Details of all communication with the client and any actions to resolve the complaint will be recorded in the same place. Reassure clients that we will follow up with them as soon as is reasonably practicable, and provide them with a date and time to expect a response, where possible.

Recorded complaints will also be monitored for any ongoing trends by the Executive Director and efforts will be made to resolve any ongoing issues.

Clients' personal details or details of their complaint will not be divulged to third parties unless prior written consent of the client has been received.

Informing Clients of Progress

Written complaints will be acknowledged promptly. We strive to resolve all complaints within fourteen days; however, clients will be given an approximate timeframe of resolution at the time that they make their complaint. They will also be informed of the progress of their complaint on a regular basis, especially if there are any delays or changes to what has been agreed.

We will ensure that clients are informed of any changes to our products or services as a result of their complaint. Where appropriate, clients who have had a complaint resolved will be contacted at a later date to see if they are happy with how their complaint was handled.

Responding to Complaints

All clients making a complaint will be treated with courtesy. Where possible, complaints will be resolved at the first point of contact. Complaints that are solved immediately will still be recorded, as outlined above.

If the complaint can't be resolved immediately, the client will be given a timeframe, a contact person and details of our complaint handling process. Where possible, the staff member taking the complaint details will be the contact person.

The Executive Director will resolve a complaint by communicating directly with all parties in determining an acceptable resolution to the situation.

Escalation of Complaints

If the usual complaint process cannot resolve a complaint, it should be referred to the Board Chair and the client will be informed and given an amended timeframe for resolution.

If we are unable to resolve the client's complaint to their satisfaction, we will inform them about where they can take further action (e.g., Office of Consumer and Business Affairs, Equal Opportunity Commission).

Complaints can be emailed to paulabafht@hay.net or phone contact can be made with the Executive Director Paula Kroll at 519-236-4413