Nationwide Advocacy Service | Free support for New Zealanders about your health and disability care

You have Rights when receiving health and disability care

One of our team of advocates can:

Hear your concerns about your health and disability care.

Talk to you about your care experience.

Inform you about steps you could take.

Support you to raise concerns or make a complaint.

Help you understand the complaint response information.

Be in the community connecting with you and people around you.

Offer you an education session to explain what the Code of Rights mean for you and your group.

You can choose how to speak up about your care

The Nationwide Advocacy Service can help you have more say in your health or disability care.

We can help you have more say in your care.

Our advocates can talk to you about steps you can take to help you feel more in control of your care.

We can support you to:

Ask your health or disability provider questions about your care concerns.

Get the information you need to make your own care choices.

Explain and communicate your concerns.

Write your own complaint letter to your care provider explaining your experience.

Meet with your provider to talk about what has happened.

Learn more about speaking up here

Why work with us?

Our advocacy process helps you to:

Clarify what did not go as expected.

Feel supported to find a pathway forward.

Understand the benefits of raising your concerns.

Get positive outcomes.

Restore relationships with your care provider.

We can help you decide whether making a complaint will help you achieve what you are seeking.

Our service is here to help you make your voice heard and start moving forward from your experience.

Download more information

Helpful questions and answers about the Nationwide Advocacy Service and our free support for New Zealanders about your health and disability care

What can I complain about?

The ten Rights explain the way care should be provided to you. You can read about them here. If you are concerned that the care provided to you did not meet any of the requirements in the ten Rights, then you can consider making complaint.

There are lots of different services you receive that are included.

Do you have a doctor or a dentist?

You may have been in hospital or have used a service for your mental wellbeing.

Or you could have a support worker who visits you at home.

If you are unsure if the service you received is a health or disability service you are welcome to contact us.

Will an advocate tell anyone about my complaint?

You can decide what to do about your complaint.

Advocates will talk with you about what outcome you are wanting from your complaint and options that are available.

You will be aware of any communication between the advocate and the health or disability provider about your complaint.

Sometimes advocates need to let the Health and Disability Commissioner's office know about your complaint, this will be discussed with you first.

What can't an advocate help me with?

ACC claims.
Wait times for services or your position on a wait list.
Accessing services that have been declined.
Support to attend appointments or fill in forms.
Get a copy of or change what is written in medical notes.
Get compensation or have people pay you money.
Have a staff member 'struck off'.
Arrange an appointment or surgery.
Raising concerns about government agencies or decisions.
Court or justice system processes.

Why can't an advocate come to an appointment with me?

Advocates are there to help you decide what to do about your concerns. We help people make complaints. We don't have clinical skills.

If you have concerns, an advocate can speak to you about questions to ask your health or disability provider.

Our advocates are able to attend meetings about a complaint when the people involved are meeting to sort out the concerns.

What if I feel upset when I speak to an advocate?

One of our advocates can speak to you on the phone, they will tell you about their role and listen to your concerns.

Our advocate will speak to you with respect and in turn will expect you do the same.

If it is something we can help with but you feel upset or unable to proceed at that time, it is possible to arrange another time to talk.

How can I meet an advocate?

Advocates are in the community meeting people. Would you like to invite them to visit your:

Disability day base.
Residential care home.
Marae.
Organisation or service.

We would be happy to link you with an advocate in your region. We want to learn about your organisation or group. Please use one of our contact options to get in touch.

Stories about how our service can help.

How would raising your health or disability concerns help you? What would it mean to you to have the information you need about your care? Could you turn a negative experience around? Here are some examples of how advocates help people each day.

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