Complaints Triage Officer (CTO) Protocol
What is a Complaints Triage Officer (CTO)?
The CTO is a member of the Complaints Committee that creates a ranking of severity, nature, and validity of a complaint against a member, accredited trainer, volunteer, or staff member. The CTO is not involved in the formal investigations of complaints to ensure an unbiased decision upon triaging. The CTO also analyses and flags any possible conflict of interest in triaging or investigations.
The CTO also works as the Lead of the Complaints Committee, being responsible for responding to initial complaint emails and liaising with the member, accredited trainer, volunteer, or staff member & Complainant.
Introduction to Protocol
The Triage Protocol for the Complaints Triage Officer (CTO) at the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists (NCIP) involves a ranking system to assess and categorise complaints based on their severity and risk level. This system ranges from 1 (no risk) to 5 (extreme risk requiring legal intervention).
Stage 1. Receipt of Complaint - 7 working days
- Acknowledgment: Immediately acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 5 working days.
Stage 2. - 10 working days
- Initial Review: Conduct a preliminary review to ascertain the basic details of the complaint.
- CTO Ranking: The CTO ranks the Level of risk upon receipt of the initial complaint.
Triage Ranking System:
Level 1 (No Risk): Complaints with no apparent risk or harm to clients, colleagues, or the public. These may be minor professional conduct issues.
Level 2 (Low Risk): Complaints indicating a low risk, possibly involving minor ethical standards or professional misconduct breaches.
Level 3 (Moderate Risk): Complaints indicating the potential to cause moderate harm or a significant breach of professional standards. This will require a more detailed investigation. This rank also includes situations where a client or trainee reports feeling frightened or intimidated by the accused member, necessitating a more thorough investigation to assess the psychological impact and potential risks.
Level 4 (High Risk): Serious complaints suggesting a substantial risk of harm or major ethical violations. Immediate action may be required e.g. temporary suspension before an investigation.
Level 5 (Extreme Risk/Legal Intervention): Complaints indicating extreme risk and illegal activities or emergency safeguarding issues including significant harm to clients, colleagues, or the public. Higher authority intervention is immediately necessary, e.g. police, social services, etc.
Stage 2 continued - Triage Levels
- Urgent Cases: For triaged Level 4 and 5 complaints, the CTO liaises with the Safeguarding lead, expedites the Complaints Committee referral process, and informs relevant authorities. The CTO sends a suspension notice to the member/trainer/volunteer/staff and reports this to The Registrar with justification of expedited sanction. Due to the potential severity of the alleged, the member/trainer/volunteer/staff has three working days to respond.
- Vexatious or Harassing Complaints: At this stage, the CTO will also review reports for vexatious or harassing content. If a complaint is deemed vexatious or harassing at this stage, the process ends here, with information provided to the complainant and the Member.
- Send to Complaints Committee (CC): The CTO sends this ranking to the CC to begin an investigation.
Stage 5. CTO Receives findings
- CTO & Findings: At Stage 5 the CTO receives the findings of the investigation provided by CC and reviews the CC investigation report.
Stage 6. CTO final Triage
- CTO Triages: After reviewing the findings, the CTO will then use the Triage ranking system above and communicate the final Triage level to the CC.
Stage 7. CTO acts as CC
Review and Feedback
The NCIP regularly reviews the triage protocol for effectiveness and makes adjustments as necessary.
The NCIP Incorporates feedback from the CC and other involved parties to refine the triage process.
