Mauri Ora—Student Health and Counselling complaints
How to give feedback, raise concerns, or make complaints about Mauri Ora—Student Health and Counselling.
Making a complaint about a service received
If you want to make a complaint about a service received through Mauri Ora—Student Health and Counselling, it is recommended that you initially contact Mauri Ora directly by emailing mauriora@vuw.ac.nz. The options available for you will depend on the nature of your complaint.
If you do not feel comfortable doing this on your own, you can ask a friend or member of your whānau to support you in this process, or contact one of the following advocacy services:
Your complaint will be responded to in accordance with the complaints process set out below.
Our complaints policy
Suggestions and comments
Mauri Ora would like to hear your comments and suggestions about any aspect of our service. You are welcome to send comments to mauriora@vuw.ac.nz.
Concerns and complaints
If you are not satisfied with any aspect of our service, you are encouraged to follow any of these options:
- Discuss your concerns with the staff member concerned, or write them a letter, outlining the issues.
- Contact mauriora@vuw.ac.nz.
- Raise your concerns with the Complaints Officer by phoning +64 4 463 5308, meeting in person, or emailing mauriora@vuw.ac.nz, after which your written concern will be escalated to the appropriate person.
Complaint forms are available from all Mauri Ora reception areas, and further information is available on our website.
What you can expect after making a complaint
If you make a complaint to us, we will:
- Acknowledge in writing, within five working days, that we have received your complaint, unless it has been resolved to your satisfaction within that time.
- Advise you, within ten working days, whether we consider your complaint to be justified. If we need more time to investigate your complaint, we will advise you of this and explain why more time is needed.
Once we have made a decision regarding your complaint, we will:
- provide you with the reasons for our decision
- advise you of the actions we propose to take
- advise you of the practice appeal procedures and your rights to complain to the Health and Disability Commissioner or the Privacy Commissioner.
For complaints that take some time to fully resolve, we will update you on the progress of your complaint each month.
At your request, we will provide you with all the information that Mauri Ora holds that is, or may be, relevant to your complaint.
If your complaint cannot be resolved, or if you are still not satisfied after having an explanation or response from the staff member concerned or from the Complaints Officer, you can contact the Director, Te Pūrengi—Student Experience and Wellbeing at kirsty.mcclure@vuw.ac.nz
You can also contact the Health and Disability Commission on 0800 555 050 for independent advocacy and enquiries into your rights as a patient.
Who manages the complaints at Mauri Ora
All complaints at Mauri Ora are managed by the Business Manager, or their delegate. It is the Complaints Officer’s responsibility to coordinate and oversee the handling of each complaint received and ensure that the complaints procedure is followed correctly.
In all cases, your complaint will be handled with respect and strict confidentiality and responded to appropriately.
Formal complaints under University policy on staff conduct
Where your complaint involves conduct that you think is a breach of the University’s Staff Conduct Policy, consult the policy or contact the Student Interests and Dispute Resolution Advisor by emailing studentinterest@vuw.ac.nz or calling +64 4 463 5023.
If you are not satisfied with the way your concerns are addressed and resolved through the steps above, you can make a formal complaint to the Health and Disability Commissioner, as outlined in the Health and Disability Commissioner leaflet, which is available from any Mauri Ora reception area.