Patient Safety,Quality and Privacy

Paramedic Associates New Zealand Limited is a Health Organisation. Therefore, our staff are required to deliver care to a standard in accordance with the The Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights.  For more information on the HDC and your rights, visit www.hdc.org.nz

We collect personal information from you, including your:

• Name
• Contact information
• Address
• Medical history, such as your medical problems, prescribed medications, and allergies
• Billing information

We collect your personal information in order to provide health services. Besides our staff, we may share this information with other health providers (such as your GP or specialist), in order to ensure continuity of care.

Providing some information is optional. If you choose not to provide information about your medical history, we may not be able to provide health services to you. 

You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, please contact us at psq@paramedicassociates.co.nz. 

Please note that this organisation is contributing to, and accessing healthcare information from, HealthOne. 

What is HealthOne?

HealthOne is a South Island based secure electronic record that allows registered healthcare providers directly involved in your healthcare, to quickly access information such as your test results, allergies, medications, GP summaries and hospital information. HealthOne adheres to the principles of the Privacy Act 2020 as well as the Rules set out in the Health Information Privacy Code 2020.  Access is only possible via an approved highly secure healthcare information network which is regularly audited and tested.  Privacy auditing is used to check that only those directly involved in your care are accessing your information.  To find out more about HealthOne please visit https://healthone.org.nz/.  Please note that you are entitled to restrict the sharing of your healthcare records by contacting 0508 837 872 or emailing HealthOne.privacy@pegasus.health.nz”  

Paramedic Associates utilises registered health practitioners to deliver its clinical services. Under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (2003), all registered health practitioners are required to hold an annual practising certificate (APC) with their registering authority and must work within their scope of practice. Registering authorities (such as the Paramedic Council) have broad powers to investigate incidents involving substandard clinical care and refer health practitioners for disciplinary proceedings. For this reason, the public can be assured that all registered health professionals providing care on our behalf are competent and fit to practice. 

In addition, Paramedic Associates has a medical director, who provides clinical oversight and expert medical advice to health professionals providing care on our behalf. The medical director issues standing orders to paramedics and registered nurses to enable them to administer/supply prescription medicines, and periodically audits the use of standing orders as required by the Standing Order Regulations (2002). 

Paramedic Associates takes all complaints seriously, and is committed to the fair, simple, speedy, and efficient resolution of complaints in accordance with the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights.

Paramedic Associates uses outcomes from complaints as an opportunity for learning and implementation of quality improvement processes.

To make a complaint:

• Patients can make complaints in person or by phone, via email, online through the Paramedic Associates New Zealand Ltd website. 
• Once received, all complaints will be recorded and forwarded on to the  most appropriate person within Paramedic Associates New Zealand Ltd. 
• Complainants will receive an acknowledgement letter or email within five working days of receipt of their complaint advising them of Paramedic Associate New Zealand Ltd's complaint process and timeframes unless their complaint was satisfactorily resolved in the interim.
• An outcome or further update letter will then be sent within a further 20 working days. 
• The complaint will be investigated, and the outcome communicated to the complainant within 20 working days. 
• In some instances, where the investigation requires longer than the 20 working days, we will communicate new timelines and the reasons for them. 

Closing a Complaint:

Once an outcome has been reached, and the decision communicated to the complainant, the complaint will be closed. However, if the complainant advises Paramedic Associates that they are not satisfied with the handling of the complaint or the complaint outcome, the complaint will be re-investigated by an appropriate person who was not directly involved in the original investigation. 

As a provider of health and disability services, Paramedic Associates New Zealand Ltd is committed to upholding The Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Right. For more information about The Code of Rights or to contact your local Health and Disability Advocacy Service, free phone 0800 555 050, or email advocacy@advocacy.org.nz. This service is free and independent. 

Delivering clinical care in the home carries an element of risk, regardless of provider. Paramedic Associates prides itself in ensuring that all of its health professionals are prepared for a clinical emergency within your home, should it occur. For your safety, all clinicians providing care on our behalf:

• Are trained to a minimum of Level 5 New Zealand Resuscitation Council (or equivalent) standard.
• Carry IV equipment and emergency medications for allergic reaction and cardiac arrest.
• Have access to emergency airways, artificial respiration equipment, and an AED (automated external defibrillator).
• Have immediate access to the 111 system to request an emergency ambulance response.