Privacy Policy

Last Reviewed or Modified: Nov 2020

This document outlines the policy of Life Plus in relation to providing services which respect the privacy and dignity of clients.

a) NZS8158:2012 Home and Community Support Sector Standard
b) Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers Rights 1966
c) ACC Code of Claimants’ Rights
d) Privacy Act 2020

a) Code of Health and Disability Service Consumer Rights 1996
b) Code of ACC  Claimants’ Rights 2002
c) NZS 8158:2003 Section 1.3.2, 1.8, 2.7.3, 4.1.1, 5.1
d) NZS 8153:2002 Health Records
e) Life 1.3 Care Needs Assessment
f) Life 1.5 Meeting Needs
g) Life 1.7 Confidentiality
h) Life 3.4 Record Keeping
i) Life 3.4a Record Keeping Procedure
j) Life 3.5 Data Protection
k) Life 3.6 Access to Records and Files
l) Induction Training Programs (Contained in Life Learning Hub)

a) F1.01 Client Handbook
b) F4.27 Staff Handbook Confirmation
c) F4.26a Staff Handbook - Home and Complex Care
d) F4.26b Staff Handbook - Temp

Life Plus aims at all times to respect the right of clients to privacy, confidentiality and dignity, recognising that these values can easily be threatened by the processes covering the provision of care in a client's own home.

a) We recognise that making an assessment of the needs of a client can seem very intrusive. We are obliged to ask questions about the most intimate areas of a client's life and it is helpful at the outset of a contact to observe a client in their own private environment where care will be delivered. We will do everything possible to limit the intrusion a client can experience at this stage and to provide all possible reassurances about the privacy and the nature of service provision generally and particularly the confidentiality of Life Plus information systems and the sensitivity of our workforce.
b) In the initial stage of the assessment Life Plus will identify the name by which the client prefers to be addressed. This will be recorded, and staff will use this form of address. This may be done at the initial contact by phone, if appropriate.
c) Some potential clients will wish a carer or representative to be present during the assessment interviews, but we do not assume that they will necessarily be privy to all of the information the client has to provide about themselves. If it seems helpful and the client desires this, we will arrange for some parts of the interview to take place with the client alone.
d) During the period of service provision, Life Plus will need from time to time to review the situation to ensure that services remain appropriate and to make adjustments to respond to changing care needs. If the staff who undertake a review are not already known to the client, this will require additional sensitivity.
e) During delivery of care, the care workers may need to update Life Plus about possible changes in client needs and will discuss initially with the client and then verbally inform Life Plus.

a) When information about clients has to be passed from a care worker to a manager, or between care workers, it will always be treated with respect and confidentiality.
b) Arrangements for processing, handling and storing data are based on the need to retain as much privacy for clients as possible with clinical information provided to the client at the place the care is to occur.
c) Sharing of information is discussed during the care needs assessment and addressed in the Client Handbook, and a copy is provided to the client. (See Related Documents)

a) At induction care workers are instructed to remember that they are guests in the client's home, and that they must be aware that they may be exposed to private and confidential information which must be respected at all times.
b) We know that some clients have forms of address for themselves to which they are particularly attached, or conversely forms of address they find particularly offensive. The preferred name is identified at the care needs assessment and it is expected the Life Plus staff will always address a client by their preferred name and understand that the acceptable usage may vary between people or over time.
c) Life Plus recognises that the carrying out of some cares, particularly those relating to client’s intimacy, places a client's privacy and dignity at risk. We undertake that our care workers will be aware and respect client privacy.
d) Life Plus respects the client’s rights to have choice regarding the care worker providing their support.
e) During the induction process care workers are instructed to be aware of client’s privacy and confidentiality. The client will notify Life Plus should this be breached.
f) We seek to make staff alert to points of cultural difference they may encounter in their work and we encourage clients to draw to our attention any particular matter of which we should be aware.