Client/Patient Rights 

You have the right to:   

    *    Quality healthcare from appropriately trained and experienced staff
    *    A health service that recognises your need for individual, responsive and considerate care
    *    Prompt service, subject to assessment and staff availability
    *    Be treated with courtesy and respect
    *    Expect that your information will be treated confidentially within BCHS according to Privacy of Information 
         requirements
    *    Receive healthcare which does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, disability, sexuality or
         health status
    *    Know the identity, professional status and qualifications of staff
    *    Request a transfer to, or obtain a second opinion from, an alternative healthcare worker from the same team, 
         although this may involve travel to a different site
    *    Have an advocate (friend, family member and/or interpreter) present when receiving a service
    *    Participate in decisions affecting your healthcare
    *    Decline any advice, information or treatment options given to you by your health care workers and to be fully
         informed of the consequences of that decision
    *    Refuse student involvement in the provision of your healthcare
    *    Refuse to participate in education or research programs
    *    Give your verbal and/or written consent before any information about your healthcare is shared with other agencies
         except in exceptional situations that require BCHS to breach confidentiality ie. mandatory reporting of child abuse; 
         where there is a threat to your own or someone else's personal safety; or if your record or healthcare worker is 
         subpoenaed by a Court
    *    Be aware that in order to provide you with the best possible care, your healthcare worker may consult with other 
         professionals of the BCHS healthcare teams; and that auditing of client records will occur from time to time
    *    Access information from your personal health record under the Health Records Act
    *    Make a complaint about any matter to BCHS and to have that complaint resolved through fair and adequate means
    *    Continue to receive services after making a complaint


You have a responsibility to:  

    *    Respect the privacy of others attending BCHS
    *    Keep appointments and/or if unable to keep an appointment, to notify BCHS as soon as possible
    *    Assist in planning your healthcare by giving accurate and complete information about your current health concerns
    *    Be actively involved in your own treatment, rehabilitation and healthcare
    *    Acknowledge the consequences of your decision if declining advice, information or treatment offered by a
         healthcare worker
    *    Respect any agreement made between you and your healthcare worker
    *    Treat staff and others in the service with courtesy and respect