LifeCare Edinburgh is committed to operating with openness, honesty, and integrity. A vital part of this commitment is ensuring that we have a transparent process in place for raising, investigating, and responding to any concerns you may have about the charity. We urge you to raise any concerns that you have as soon as possible.

1 – Who is this policy for?

This is our “external” policy and is therefore for those who don’t work for LifeCare Edinburgh but who have a concern about our charity or operations.

Please note we have a separate “internal” policy for employees.

2 – Overview of this policy

This policy provides guidance on:

• the concerns it may be appropriate for you to raise,
• the way in which you can raise concerns,
• how we will treat and investigate your concerns and
• the protections available to you when you report any concerns,
• What type of concerns should I raise?

We would encourage you to report any concerns to us.

Examples of this are:

• fraud or other criminal activity,
• concerns regarding fundraising or misuse of funds,
• safeguarding issues involving vulnerable adults or children,
• health and safety concerns,
• employment concerns (such as discrimination or potential discrimination),
• bribery or corruption, modern slavery,
• ethical trading,
• breach of law and/or regulation,
• breach of our legal or professional obligations,
• breach or our policies or processes,
• breach of a contract that LifeCare Edinburgh has entered into.

Please note these are intended to be examples and not an exhaustive list.

3 – How to raise a concern

If you wish to raise a concern, you can do so by contacting:

Chief Executive
LifeCare Edinburgh
2 Cheyne Street
Edinburgh
EH4 1JB

The Chief Executive will play an independent role in relation to any concern that is raised and will ensure it is investigated appropriately and ensure that appropriate action is then taken.

Depending on the nature of your concern, it may also be appropriate for you to raise your concern with external agencies in Scotland.

In the table below, we provide additional guidance on how to report specific issues:

4 – What happens when I raise a concern with LifeCare Edinburgh?

If you raise a concern with us, our Chief Executive will contact you as soon as possible to discuss your concerns.  As the investigation progresses we may also refer it to an external agency (for example, the appropriate Regulator).

Please be assured that we will investigate all concerns independently, promptly, and thoroughly.  The final outcome of our investigation will be reported back to you.

5 – Anonymous Reporting

Please understand that because anonymous disclosures are more difficult for us to investigate, we would prefer for you to identify yourself when making contact.

If you wish to disclose your name on a confidential basis, we will make every effort to maintain this confidence (and will usually be able to discuss any potential disclosure before it occurs).

6 – Protection and support for those who raise a concern

We are committed to openness and transparency and we will support you where you raise good faith concerns about our organisation or operations, even if they turn out to be mistaken.

Please be assured you will not suffer any repercussions as a result of raising concerns.  If you believe that you have suffered any detrimental treatment as a result, you should inform us immediately.  If the matter is not then dealt with promptly, you may raise it formally with our Chairman.  You may also refer the matter to the OSCR.

At any point, you may also seek independent legal advice.

LifeCare Edinburgh does not tolerate any action taken against a person who has raised a concern (for example, threats, retaliation, punishment or any other form of detrimental treatment).  We reserve our right to take action against those who engage in such behaviour (which for employees may include disciplinary action). Please note we also have to reserve our rights against anyone found to have reported concerns maliciously or without good faith.