Your healthcare rights

At the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) we aim to provide children, young people, families and carers with the highest level of care when using our services. 

The Charter of Healthcare Rights explains what you or someone you care for can expect when receiving health care from any of the services that are provided by the Child and Adolescent Health Service.

At CAMHS, we also aim to ensure your rights are met according to the Charter of Mental Health Care Principles. 

Charter of Mental Health Care Principles

The 15 Principles set out what you can expect when receiving mental health services from us. The principles include:

Principle 1: Attitude towards people experiencing mental illness

CAMHS must treat people experiencing mental illness with dignity, equality, courtesy and compassion and must not discriminate against or stigmatise them.

Principle 2: Human rights

CAMHS must protect and uphold the fundamental human rights of people experiencing mental illness and act in accordance with the national and international standards that apply to mental health services.

Principle 3: Person-centred approach

CAMHS must uphold a person-centred focus with a view to obtaining the best possible outcomes for people experiencing mental illness, including by recognising life experiences, needs, preferences, aspirations, values and skills, while delivering goal-oriented treatment, care and support. 

CAMHS must promote positive and encouraging recovery focused attitudes towards mental illness, including that people can and do recover, lead full and productive lives and make meaningful contributions to the community.

Principle 4: Delivery of treatment, care and support

CAMHS must be easily accessible and safe and provide people experiencing mental illness with timely treatment, care and support of high quality based on contemporary best practice to promote recovery in the least restrictive manner that is consistent with their needs.

Principle 5: Choice and self-determination

CAMHS must involve people in decision-making and encourage self-determination, cooperation and choice, including by recognising people’s capacity to make their own decisions.

Principle 6: Diversity

CAMHS must recognise, and be sensitive and responsive to, diverse individual circumstances, including those relating to gender, sexuality, age, family, disability, lifestyle choices and cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices.

Principle 7: People of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent

CAMHS must provide treatment and care to people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent that is appropriate to, and consistent with, their cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices and having regard to the views of their families and, to the extent that it is practicable and appropriate to do so, the views of significant members of their communities, including elders and traditional healers, and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mental health workers.

Principle 8: Co-occurring needs

CAMHS must address physical, medical and dental health needs of people experiencing mental illness and other co-occurring health issues, including physical and intellectual disability and alcohol and other drug problems.

Principle 9: Factors influencing mental health and wellbeing

CAMHS must recognise the range of circumstances, both positive and negative, that influence mental health and wellbeing, including relationships, accommodation, recreation, education, financial circumstances and employment.

Principle 10: Privacy and confidentiality

CAMHS must respect and maintain privacy and confidentiality.

Principle 11: Responsibilities and dependants

CAMHS must acknowledge the responsibilities and commitments of people experiencing mental illness, particularly the needs of their children and other dependants.

Principle 12: Provision of information about mental illness and treatment

CAMHS must provide, and clearly explain, information about the nature of the mental illness and about treatment (including any risks, side effects and alternatives) to people experiencing mental illness in a way that will help them to understand and to express views or make decisions.

Principle 13: Provision of information about rights

CAMHS must provide, and clearly explain, information about legal rights, including those relating to representation, advocacy, complaints procedures, services and access to personal information, in a way that will help people experiencing mental illness to understand, obtain assistance and uphold their rights.

Principle 14: Involvement of other people

CAMHS must take a collaborative approach to decision making, including respecting and facilitating the right of people experiencing mental illness to involve their family members, carers and other personal support persons in planning, undertaking, evaluating and improving their treatment, care and support.

Principle 15: Accountability and improvement

CAMHS must be accountable, committed to continuous improvement and open to solving problems in partnership with all people involved in the treatment, care and support of people experiencing mental illness, including their family members, carers and other personal and professional support persons.

How you can help us

CAHS is committed to child and family centred care. This means we provide care in partnership with our children, young people, families and carers. To help us provide the best care, we ask you to:

• Tell us if you have concerns about the care you are receiving from our service and help us identify where we can make improvements
• Ask questions if there’s anything you don’t understand
• Attend appointments or tell us in advance if you need to reschedule
• Let us know of any change in your personal information, including contact numbers
• Share accurate health information with us
• Follow the instructions for your child’s agreed treatment and let us know if there are any problems
• Let us know about any special needs you and/or your family have, particularly any cultural, religious or access needs

We want our services to be delivered in safe and supportive environments, so we ask all staff, families, patients/clients and visitors to:

• Treat all people you meet in the health service (staff, volunteers, patients, their families) with care, dignity and consideration.
• Behave in a manner that is not aggressive or abusive.
• Tell us about recent illnesses and hospital visits, symptoms, medications, allergies and other health related matters.
• Tell us about any religious or cultural beliefs and requirements.
• Ask questions and talk to your family before making any decisions about your health care if relevant.
• Follow staff instructions regarding treatment and care.
• Respect the confidentiality and privacy of others.
• Take care of personal property and respect Child and Adolescent Health Service property.
• Be on time for appointments and let us know if you need to cancel or reschedule and notify us if your contact details change.
• Know that the Child and Adolescent Health Service has a special role in training health care professionals. Each person’s treatment may provide an opportunity for such training.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback, both positive and negative. It helps us provide you with a better service that meets our vision of healthy kids, healthy communities.

No smoking

To protect patients, clients, visitors and staff, all CAHS sites are a smoke-free environment.

Filming and photography

You can film and photograph your child while they are a patient or client at CAHS.

However, any photography or filming of CAHS staff (all staff), other children or their family/carers without their permission is prohibited to ensure their privacy.