Your rights and responsibilities
For clients
As a Ruah client, your personal needs, strengths and how you choose to manage your recovery journey are central to everything we do. We are committed to supporting you every step of the way and involving you in all decisions that affect your recovery.
You have the right to:
- Be treated with respect, dignity and courtesy regardless of age, disability, cultural and linguistic background, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and religious or spiritual beliefs
- Expect your privacy and confidentiality to be protected
- Access community services that are available to you
- Receive tools, resources and support information to help you achieve your goals
- Be provided with a safe, friendly and supportive environment
- Receive services that comply with appropriate standards of professionalism, competency and accountability.
- Participate in, and include people that you want, in decisions and planning and have access to your records
- Be informed about service options, the possible benefits and risks, and costs and in a clear and open way
- Be told if something has gone wrong during your support, how it happened, how it may affect you, and what is being done to make the support we provide safe
- Have the opportunity to share your experience to improve the quality of our services
- Have your complaints or comments about Ruah responded to in a timely and respectful manner and without any impact on your service
- Refuse our services at any point.
You are responsible for:
- Respecting Ruah staff, property and other visitors to our premises
- Being respectful of the privacy and confidentiality of information about other people
- Participating in service or care plans and honouring agreements with Ruah about service provision and care
- Telling us about any changes that affect your ability to access our services.
For carers
We value the role of our clients’ carers and support persons and believe that carers and support persons who are young have special needs and are entitled to special support and consideration.
You have the right to:
- Be treated with respect for your individual human worth and dignity regardless of age, disability, cultural and linguistic background, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and religious or spiritual beliefs
- Have your privacy and confidentiality respected
- Receive comprehensive information, education, training and support to facilitate their care and support roles
- Be provided with a safe, friendly and supportive environment
- Receive services that comply with appropriate standards of professionalism, competency and accountability
- Place limits on your availability to the person you care for (mental health consumer).
- Access mechanisms for complaint and redress if you are dissatisfied with the treatment or support provided to the mental health consumer.
- Receive special support and consideration if you are young or have special needs.
With the consent of the mental health consumer – and where it is appropriate to do so in accordance with legislation and policy – guardians, carers and support persons have the right to:
- Contact the mental health consumer while they are undergoing treatment
- Seek and receive additional information about the mental health consumer’s support, care, treatment, rehabilitation and recovery
- Arrange support services for the mental health consumer, such as respite care, counselling and community care facilities
- Be provided with any information that the mental health consumer requests that you receive.
You are responsible for:
- Respect the humanity and dignity of the person you care for
- Respect the humanity and dignity of our staff, property and other visitors to our premises
- Be respectful of the confidentiality and privacy of information about other people
- Cooperate, as far as is possible, with reasonable programs of assessment, individualised care planning, support, care, treatment, recovery and rehabilitation.
- Tell us of any changes that affects your ability to access our services.
If you have any questions about your rights or responsibilities please ask your Ruah support worker or: