Procedure for Dealing with a Vexatious Complainant Sample Clauses

Procedure for Dealing with a Vexatious Complainant. The most important principle in dealing with a complaint that may be felt to be vexatious is to be absolutely certain that all aspects of the complaint have been thoroughly dealt with by the Trust and that further investigation would add no value to the outcome. Defining a complaint as vexatious will usually occur when the complaint is with the Convenor. Advice may be sought from the Complaints Manager. The decision must be discussed with the Chief Executive and ratified by him/her and the Complaints Convenor together, having both examined all the relevant documentation. It is sometimes useful to call a ‘Complaints Conference’ with all concerned to ensure all aspects of the complaint have been thoroughly covered. Once established the Chief Executive will write to the complainant to say that: • the Trust has responded fully to all the points raised • nothing further can be done to resolve the problem • future correspondence to the Trust on the matter will be acknowledged but not answered • the complainant has the right to request an Independent Review if this request has not already been processed. Should a request for an Independent Review follow, the documentation will be passed to the Associate Convenor in the usual way, without discussion. The Associate Convenor, with the Independent Chairperson, using information from any Independent Assessors, will come to a decision about whether to proceed with an Independent Review. Should the complaint become vexatious at this stage, the same procedure as above will be followed, giving the complainant the option of proceeding to the Ombudsman. While the Trust welcomes complaints and will always take them seriously, unreasonable or vexatious complaints may be referred to the Trust’s solicitors. 13 Independent Practitioners