Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994

  • not the latest version
20 Content of Code

(1)

A Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights prescribed by regulations made under section 74(1) shall contain provisions relating to the following matters:

(a)

the principle that, except where any enactment or any provision of the Code otherwise provides, no health care procedure shall be carried out without informed consent:

(b)

the duties and obligations of health care providers as they relate to the principle set out in paragraph (a):

(c)

the rights of health consumers and disability services consumers, and the duties and obligations of health care providers and disability services providers, as they relate to—

(i)

matters of privacy (other than matters that may be the subject of a complaint under Part 7 or Part 8 of the Privacy Act 1993 or matters to which Part 10 of that Act relates):

(ii)

health teaching and health research:

(iii)

the provision of services that take into account the needs, values, and beliefs of different cultural, religious, social, and ethnic groups:

(d)

the duties of health care providers and disability services providers as they relate to the measures (including the provision of interpreters) necessary to enable health consumers and disability services consumers to communicate effectively with health care providers and disability services providers:

(e)

the establishment and maintenance, by health care providers and disability services providers, of procedures for dealing with complaints against them by health consumers or disability services consumers, or both, and access by health consumers and disability services consumers to such procedures:

(f)

the duties of health care providers and disability services providers to provide services of an appropriate standard:

(g)

the duties of health care providers and disability services providers to provide services in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of the individual.

(2)

Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights prescribed by regulations made under section 74(1) may provide for—

(a)

any matter relating to the rights of disability services consumers that the Commissioner considers is of particular importance to such consumers:

(b)

any matter incidental or ancillary to the rights of health consumers or disability services consumers, or both.