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Disability related
complaints received
The primary issues people complained
about have remained similar to previous
years. The most common issues are
standard of care, communication and the
management of facilities. These issues often
consist of concerns about:
• Poor communication by providers with
consumers and their families – people
complained that they were not kept
informed about health and care issues
affecting themselves or their family
member. Complaints were made
about the way in which people were
communicated with, including verbal
abuse, lack of response to enquiries and
non-returning of telephone calls.
• Inadequate care and treatment
– people complained that personal
cares were not performed properly:
medication was not administered
properly, there were allegations of
assault, improper use of restraint,
poor equipment assessments and
dissatisfaction with assessment results.
• Poor attitude and manner – people
complained that they were disrespected,
that their personal privacy was not
respected, that they experienced a lack of
compassion or that they felt threatened.
There were also complaints about access to
services and funding of services and several
issues about accident compensation
processes and decisions were raised
and referred as appropriate.
National Disability
Conference
The second National Disability Conference
was held on 11 June 2012 in Auckland. In
line with the HDC’s vision of a consumercentred
system, the 2012 conference theme
was “Succeeding Together: Fostering
a Culture of Consumer Engagement”.
Successful service outcomes require the
knowledge of both the disability provider
and the consumer, enabling a collaborative
approach. The conference encouraged
consumers to be active participants in their
care and to work with their providers to
achieve shared decision making around
their care. More than 350 people attended
the conference, including consumers, family
members and unpaid carers, representatives
of consumer organisations, disability service
providers, government agencies, suppliers
of disability related products and services,
speakers and presenters. Professor Ron
McCallum, Chair, United Nations Committee
on the Rights or Persons with Disabilities
(UNCRPD) was the keynote speaker.
HDC ANNUAL REPORT 2012
31