Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights in Victoria

Page content: Charter in Victoria | Patients and consumers | Healthcare services and healthcare professionals

The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights describes the rights of patients, consumers and other people using the Australian healthcare system. These rights are essential to make sure that, wherever and whenever health care is provided, it is of high quality and is safe.

The Charter was developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare through extensive consultation with the health sector, government and health consumer groups, and adopted by federal and state Health Ministers in July 2008.

Further information about the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights.

Charter in Victoria

The Victorian government endorses the Charter, and has produced a healthcare rights brochure for Victorian healthcare services to use with patients and consumers. The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights in Victoria brochure is available as an audio file, Easy English, in Braille, as a free printed brochure (order or ask your healthcare service), or as a document in English and 25 community languages. This site also contains the national Charter.

Patients and consumers

This information has been developed to assist patients and consumers seeking or receiving care from Victorian healthcare services to learn more about healthcare rights, about what they can expect from Victorian healthcare services, and where to go for help if they have a concern about a service they are seeking or receiving. It also contains a summary of The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights in Victoria, as well as further information, such as consumer health information and consumer advocacy organisations.

Healthcare services and healthcare professionals

This information has been developed to assist healthcare services to use The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights in Victoria in a variety of ways to support healthcare rights. It contains information and resources about the role of healthcare services and providers in realising healthcare rights, and ideas about how services and providers can:

• Build healthcare rights into their systems, policies and procedures
• Enhance communication and clinical practice to help realise healthcare rights
• Disseminate the brochure to patients, consumers and the community, and
• Involve and train staff.

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