Our Policies

Comments and Complaints

We want to hear about your experience with Dumfries and Galloway Advocacy Service. Your feedback is important to us as it gives us the opportunity to evaluate our service and make improvements where necessary.

Comments

As standard, we will send you a feedback form when closing your current case file which gives you the opportunity to comment on your experience of the service and the advocate with whom you worked with. Please note that this can be done anonymously.

Should you wish to give feedback out with this, you can do so by going directly to your advocate or to the Chief Executive.

For your information, some feedback may appear on our website for others to see however no personal details will be included and it will be posted anonymously.

Complaints

Dumfries and Galloway Advocacy Service strives at all times to provide an efficient, fair and professional service to all our clients and others with whom we have dealings, whether they are individuals or organisations. However, if you believe that things have gone wrong, or that you have not received the service or treatment to which you are entitled, we want you to tell us. We can then try to resolve your complaint, and make sure that our practice improves so that it does not happen again.

Comments, Feedback & Complaints Policy

Confidentiality

Information shared between you and your advocate remains confidential within Dumfries and Galloway Advocacy Service. Your advocate will not discuss or disclose any of your information to any other party without first obtaining your consent and permission. The exception to this policy is if we feel you or another person is at risk of harm. We have a duty as an organisation to report our concerns to the appropriate body.

To further your right to confidentiality, it is our policy that should your advocate or Dumfries and Galloway Advocacy Service staff see you outside of an advocacy setting, we will not acknowledge you unless you acknowledge us first.

You have the right to access all the data we hold about you, subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. Upon request you will be provided with a copy of all written, electronic or imaged information relating to your case. Please note that this may exclude any Third Party Information.

As standard, any records or documents we hold about you will be kept for five years after our last contact with you. After this point, all documentation will be destroyed unless you specifically request that we retain it.

All records are stored in password-protected electronic filing systems and/or locked cabinets.

Zero Tolerance

Dumfries and Galloway Advocacy Service operates a Zero Tolerance policy at all times.

This Service considers aggressive behaviour to be any personal, abusive and/or aggressive comments, cursing and/or swearing, shouting at staff/volunteers, physical contact and aggressive gestures.

Zero Tolerance Policy