Making a Complaint
The Mental Health Commission doesn't handle individual complaints. Remember asserting your rights is not a symptom of disease.
If you want to make a complaint you might find it helpful to seek advice and support from a Consumer Advocate. The Consumer Advisor in each District Health Board (DHB) mental health and addiction service will be able to direct you to a local Consumer Advocate.
Issues About Mental Health and Addiction Services
It's best to talk or write directly to the person or organisation that provided the service. If you feel uncomfortable or unable to do this, you can take a friend or relative with you as support. You can also take an advocate with you - this includes those from the Health and Disability Commission or a peer advocate). If you are uncomfortable talking to the mental health worker concerned, you can go straight to the person's manager.
Ask for a copy of their complaints procedure. Every hospital/District Health Board (DHB) or mental health and addiction service provider has a documented complaints procedure. You can request a copy of that procedure which will tell you the correct way to make a complaint about their service.
After you have followed the complaints procedure, and you feel that your complaint has still not been adequately dealt with, you should contact the manager of the service and outline your complaint and expectations to them.
If the manager has already been involved in your first complaint, then ask for the name of the person that the manager reports to and address your concerns to them.
If you cannot get a satisfactory outcome from making a complaint, then you can lodge a formal complaint with the Health and Disability Commissioner, which has offices in both Auckland and Wellington. Contact details for the Health and Disability Commissioner are:
Auckland: 09 373 1060
Wellington: 04 494 7900
Other areas: 0800 11 22 33
Website: www.hdc.org.nz
The office for the Health and Disability Commissioner also offers a free support service in the form of an independent Health and Disability Advocate in all regions who is trained to help people making complaints.
Contact details for health advocates are: 0800 555 050 (top half of North Island), 0800 423 638 (bottom half of North Island), or 0800 377 766 (South Island).
What are my rights as a health consumer?
The Health and Disability Consumers' Code of Rights
All users of health services, including mental health and addiction services, have rights under the Code of Health and Disability Consumer's Rights 1996. These are the rights to:
- respect
- fair treatment
- dignity and independence
- proper standards of care
- effective communication
- information
- decide about treatment and care
- a support person of your choice
- decide about involvement in health teaching and research
- make complaints.