Further to my previous post about the complaint about Cochrane’s Editor in Chief, I wrote to the Cochrane support address given if you want to contact Cochrane’s Governing Board.
24 June 2023
Dear Cochrane Support (cc Gillian Leng, Lorraine Ross, Charity Commission)
I have asked at least once for you to forward correspondence regarding complaints to the governing board and have never received a reply. I am not happy with how recent complaints have been handled by the CEO, and so I need to contact the Trustees. Please could you confirm you will forward this email to them?
A complaint against the Editor-in-Chief has not been investigated. The complaints procedure has also not been followed for a complaint about the Cochrane Library Oversight Committee and the poor management of the Exercise for CFS review update. I don’t see how “making a note” of complaints is a credible procedure for a Charity when serious concerns are raised, particularly concerning potential harm to its beneficiaries.
The Charity Commission responded to my concerns by saying if decisions are made by the trustees and those decisions have been properly made within the law and the provisions of the charity’s governing document, then they won’t engage with the charity if people don’t like those decisions.
Please could you give me evidence that Trustees have seen and discussed my complaint about the Editor-in-Chief, and evidence that the decision not to investigate, despite the CEO’s earlier acknowledgement that it would be, has been properly made. Please can you also point me to the provision in the governing document which was used to make their decision?
I have copied in Gillian Leng on her NHS email address, as I corresponded with her on a related matter when she was CEO of NICE
Many thanks
Caroline