Quality of care

The ECHO Community Services team is committed to providing clients with quality care and assistance to maintain their independence for as long as practicable.

Client Rights and Responsibilities

Under the Aged Care Act (1997) care recipients who are receiving community care services have certain rights and responsibilities.  These are outlined below for your information.

Clients have the following RIGHTS:

• To be involved in deciding the community care most appropriate to meet their needs.
• To be given enough information to assist to make an informed choice about their care.
• To be given a written care plan of the services that they will receive.
• To receive community care that takes account of their lifestyle and cultural, linguistic and religious preferences.
• To be able to take part in social activities and community life as they choose.
• To be treated with dignity, with their privacy respected.
• To complain about the community care being received, without the fear of losing the care or being disadvantaged in any way.
• To choose a person to speak on their behalf for any purpose.
• Community Aged Care Package clients have an additional basic right to have a service agreement with their service provider and the right to security of tenure.

Clients have the following RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To respect the rights of staff and the provider to work in a safe and healthy environment free from harassment.
• To care for their own health and well-being, as far as he/she is capable.
• To provide information to the provider about their wants and needs.
• Notifying the provider of any special requirements, including any proposed leave dates.
• Informing the provider about any required changes to the care plan or agreement.
• Providing constructive feedback to the provider about the service’s performance.
• ECHO Community Services has a Client Feedback Form available for any client or interested party to complete.  A copy of the form is available here for download, and the form can be posted, handed in or faxed to us.  All feedback is acknowledged and actioned as soon as possible.

Your right to make a complaint:

If you wish to make a complaint about our service, but would not like to approach ECHO Community Services in the first instance, other avenues are available to you. Please contact the organisations below: