Here For You - Client Charter
This Charter provides you with information about your rights and responsibilities as the person accessing this service.
Here For You provides a confidential telephone service with access to professionally trained counsellors or professional peer practitioners. Individuals and family members concerned about their own or someone else’s alcohol or other drug use and/or mental health can call for immediate support, information, treatment, and referral options.
Your rights
You have a right to a confidential, non-judgemental, professional, respectful, and accountable service. You have the right to ask questions and provide feedback on your experience of our service.
Your responsibilities include:
BEING ABLE TO ENGAGE – When contacting the service, you engage appropriately with the team members and you are not significantly impaired by the effects of alcohol and/or other drugs.
COMMUNICATION – Providing accurate information about your alcohol or other drug use and/or your mental health diagnosis to enable us to provide the best possible support.
Our rights
RESPECT –The Here For You team members are entitled to respect, courtesy and not being subjected to abusive and/or aggressive language.
Our responsibilities include:
SUPPORT – Working with you and supporting you to get the best possible outcomes for your situation.
RESPECT – Listening carefully and treating you with respect, dignity and courtesy.
INFORMATION – Providing you with information about a range of quality, evidence-based services and treatment options specific to your individual needs, in a way that is easy to understand and free from bias.
CONFIDENTIALITY – Ensuring your information is kept confidential unless disclosure is otherwise authorised and/or required, and that the information we keep is stored in accordance with the State Records Act 2008.
SAFETY – We have a duty of care to take steps if safety concerns arise during your call, in order to ensure your safety, and the safety of others (including children).
NON-DISCRIMINATION – Providing services that do not discriminate and are inclusive of age, gender, sexuality, spiritual beliefs, country of origin, cultural identity or disability.
PROFESSIONAL – Providing services that are delivered with professional care, skill and competence, ensuring staff maintain up to date skills and knowledge, and the service participates in continuous quality improvement.
Feedback, compliments, and complaints
FEEDBACK - Your feedback is an important part of helping us to improve the services we provide. Feedback can be a compliment, suggestion or complaint and you can provide feedback, by phone or in writing. If you would like to provide feedback on your contact with our service please complete the quick survey or email us at hereforyou@mhc.wa.gov.au or call 1800 43 73 48 and ask to speak to the Coordinator.
COMPLAINTS – You can comment on or complain about the service you received by speaking directly to us or via our online Complaints Form.
Complaints will be dealt with in a timely and professional manner following the Mental Health Commission’s organisational complaints process.
RELEASE OF INFORMATION – Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 every person has a right to request access to documents about them. If you would like more information please visit the Mental Health Commission website or click here: Freedom of Information.
OTHER RELEVANT SERVICES - If you are unhappy with the response from our service or feel uncomfortable approaching our service directly you can contact the following services for assistance.
Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO)
Telephone (08) 6551 7600 or Free Call 1800 999 057
HaDSCO is an independent state government agency providing a free impartial resolution service for complaints relating to health or disability services in Western Australia.
Health Consumers Council of Western Australia (HCC)
Telephone (08) 9221 3422 or Free Call 1800 620 780
HCC’s Advocacy Service provides flexible, individualised support, including providing information about your health rights, helping you to get linked with a service, attending appointments with you and assisting you to make a complaint.
Telephone (08) 9325 8387
Peer Based Harm Reduction WA (PBHRWA) provides peer-based support, information and education, advocacy and harm reduction services. PBHRWA is the primary harm reduction organisation for the state of Western Australia (WA). As a peer-based organisation PBHRWA is a part of the national network of drug user organisations and a member of the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL), the national peak body organisation representing drug user organisation.