Your rights

Your rights when receiving services from the Auckland District Health Board.

We want to work together with you so that you receive the best healthcare possible. When you are in our care, you have the following rights:

To be treated fairly, with dignity and respect.
To make your own decisions about your care and treatment.
To be able to change your mind about aspects of your care.
To be asked for your consent (verbal or written) before we carry out any treatment or procedure. (Note, we may take into account the views of your family or whanau if you are not able to communicate with us).
To have your cultural needs respected.
To be made aware of the choices you have for your treatment, including the benefits and risks involved. (Note, in medical emergencies this may not always be possible).
To be communicated with in a way that you understand. To be offered an interpreter, if necessary.
To have all treatments, tests or procedures clearly explained to you.
To have your personal information kept confidential.
To have a family member or support person accompany you (for safety reasons this may not always be possible).

These rights also apply if you are asked to take part in a research study or teaching session for training staff. These rights are based on the Code of Health and Disability Consumer’s Rights. A full copy of these rights is available on the Health and Disability Commissioner’s website

For printable PDF versions of Your Rights patient brochures click below:

Interpreting services

Interpreting services can be arranged for people who are hearing impaired or do not speak English as a first language. Arrangements can be made through the nurse in charge of the ward or department, or you can ask for an interpreter when confirming an outpatient clinic or day stay appointment by telephone.

If you are eligible for publicly funded healthcare, there is no charge for this service. This service is funded by Starship Child Health.

For a translation of the following message into several languages, select If you need a trained interpreter, please ask the staff.

New Zealand Relay provides telecommunication services for people who are deaf, hearing impaired, deafblind and speech impaired. See www.nzrelay.co.nz for further information.

Health & disability advocacy

The Health Advocates' Trust provides a free, independent advocacy service to help people ensure their rights are respected. Phone 0800 555 050 or 09 623 5799 for the Auckland office.

The Health and Disability Commissioner is an independent government agency set up to promote and protect the rights of consumers who use health and disability services; help resolve problems between consumers and providers of health and disability services; and improve the quality of health care and disability services. Visit the website for more information about your rights or call them directly on phone 0800 11 22 33 or 09 373 1060 for their Auckland office.

Your privacy

To care for you in the best way possible our doctors, nurses and other health professionals directly associated with your care need to view your health information. Other Auckland DHB staff may need to view your information for administration, quality improvement activities, teaching and, in some cases, for medical research. We will always:

Keep your personal information confidential.
Let you view your records.
Acknowledge your request for corrections to your records.
Acknowledge your request not to release your information.

Your health information may be disclosed to another health provider involved in your treatment or where authorised by law. For further information about the privacy of your information, you can call the Auckland DHB Privacy Officer on: 09 367 0000.

How you can help us:

Being actively involved in your treatment and care.
Sharing with us any information that will help us with your care and treatment.
Being sensitive to the needs and privacy of others in our care.
Being respectful to our staff and our property.
Respecting our no-smoking policy.

We have a patient enquiries number (09 375 4300). We only give out information about the ward that a particular patient is in and their general condition. If you are a patient and do not want this information shared, please tell a nurse.

Starship website privacy statement

This section explains how Starship Child Health uses any information you give to us through this website and the way we protect your privacy. Protecting the privacy and personal data of the visitors to our website is of the utmost importance to us. This site has security measures in place to protect the loss and alteration of information under our control.

We do not collect personal information on this site unless you choose to give it to us. We do not collect identifiable information about you if you only browse our website, and information provided will be held by Starship Child Health (Auckland District Health Board).

Use and disclosure

We only use personal information that you provide to us through this site for the purposes for which you supplied it. We do not share your personal information externally unless this is necessary for the purpose for which you gave us the information (for instance to investigate a complaint) or sharing is permitted by law.
If you provide feedback regarding our website we will only use it to develop and improve the site.
We analyse non-identifiable web traffic data to improve our services.

Important information

This privacy statement does not cover links within this site to other websites.

If you would like to give feedback on the website, please contact us.