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Your Rights and Responsibilities

Central Highlands Rural Health believes that all clients, residents, staff and visitors should have an understanding of their rights and responsibilities within the service. All clients receiving services from CHRH will be informed of their rights and responsibilities in respect to their own care and treatment and their relationship to other patients, staff and visitors.

Acute Care and Community Health Services

The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights outlines the rights of patients receiving care from an Australian healthcare service. These rights are:

  • Access: to health care when needed
  • Safety: safe and high quality care delivered in a safe, secure and supportive healthcare environment
  • Respect: to be treated with dignity, consideration and without discrimination
  • Communication: open effective two-way communication between the individual and the health service
  • Participation: right to take an active role in own health care
  • Privacy and confidentiality: I have a right to privacy and
    confidentiality of my personal information
  • Comment: right to comment on care and to have concerns addressed

The Charter recognises that both the people using a health service and the people providing health care all have a role to play in achieving healthcare rights.

Clients will receive the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights brochure with their admission paperwork and a copy of this can be found at Victorian Government Health Information website.

For clients of HACC services, specific user rights and responsibilities can be found on the Victorian Government Home and Community Care website.

Your Responsibilities

Please help us provide you with the best possible care by:

  • Providing accurate information, as best you can, about your current medical problems, previous illness, medications, visits to hospital, allergies and other matters relating to your health
  • Asking staff for a clear explanation of treatments, tests and medications recommended for your care
  • Letting staff know immediately if you do not understand instructions or advice given to you
  • Discussing any worries or concerns you have with a relevant member of staff
  • Letting staff know if you intend to leave the hospital
  • Being courteous and considerate to other patients and to treating staff
  • Being involved in the planning of your discharge

Clear communication is our goal. It helps if everyone can understand what to expect when they are a patient or client. Your communication supports us to care for you most effectively. Our team will talk through processes with you when you visit hospital or we visit your home. We invite you to ask questions about your healthcare.

Aged Care

Residents of residential aged care homes have substantial rights and responsibilities and these are set out in the Residential Aged Care Charter as part of the Aged Care legislation. The Charter details the rights and responsibilities of all residents including personal, civil, legal and consumer rights. The Charter also outlines resident’s responsibilities in relation to other residents, staff and the residential aged care service community as a whole.

All residents of our aged care facilities will have available the Aged Care Rights and responsibilities charter that was developed by the Commonwealth Government. A copy of this can be found at: Australian Government Department of Health & Ageing website.

Charter of Aged Care Rights

I have the right to:

  • safe and high quality care and services;
  • be treated with dignity and respect;
  • have my identity, culture and diversity valued and supported;
  • live without abuse and neglect;
  • be informed about my care and services in a way I understand;
  • access all information about myself, including information about my rights, care and services;
  • have control over and make choices about my care, and personal and social life, including where the choices involve personal risk;
  • have control over, and make decisions about, the personal aspects of my daily life, financial affairs and possessions;
  • my independence;
  • be listened to and understood;
  • have a person of my choice, including an aged care advocate, support me or speak on my behalf;
  • complain free from reprisal, and to have my complaints dealt with fairly and promptly;
  • personal privacy and to have my personal information protected;
  • exercise my rights without it adversely affecting the way I am treated.

The Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for Home Care applies to people receiving Australian Government funded Home Care packages.

If you would like any further information regarding your rights and responsibilities as a client or resident please refer to the above websites or contact any of our campus offices.

If you have concerns about the aged care you are receiving, you can:

  • talk to your aged care provider, in the first instance,
  • speak with an aged care advocate on 1800 700 600 or visit opan.com.au, for support to raise your concerns, or
  • contact the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1800 951 822 or visit its website, agedcarequality.gov.au. The Commission can help you resolve a complaint about your aged care provider.

Gifts Benefits and Hospitality

The Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC) has issued guidelines for Victorian public sector employees on giving and receiving gifts, benefits and hospitality. For more information visit Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Register.

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