Patient Rights and Responsibilities

Respecting the rights of all people in our care.

GBACHC is committed to providing responsible, respectful and compassionate primary health care, as well as community and wellness programs and services for our community.

Whether you are a patient at our Centre or participate in our programs or services, it is important that you understand your patient rights rights and responsibilities.

Each individual has the right:

To be treated with dignity, courtesy and respect in a manner that fully recognizes their dignity and individuality without discrimination
To privacy and confidentiality in all matters
To be treated in a safe and secure environment
To know who is responsible for their care and who is providing their treatment
To be informed of their medical condition, treatment and proposed course of treatment
To participate in making any decision and in obtaining another opinion in any aspect of their care

To give or refuse consent to treatment, including medications, and to be informed of the consequences of giving or refusing consent
To have a designate in place to receive information concerning their care
To have access to the information retained in their patient file, except when it is reasonable to believe that such access would result in a substantial risk to the physical, mental or emotional health of the patient or harm a third party
To be aware of the procedures for initiating a complaint

Patient arm using a blood-pressure machine

Each individual has responsibilities:

To keep their appointments to the best of their ability or cancelling them in a timely fashion (24 hours notice)
To follow mutually agreed upon treatment plans
To let their health provider (NP, MD, Social Worker etc.) know if they are no longer following treatment plans
To share important information necessary for their care, including the use of outside health care providers
To follow community group guidelines developed for healthy group interactions

To refrain from being intoxicated and being under the influence of illegal substances (drugs) when visiting the Health Centre
To respect the professional relationship with Heath Centre providers and program leaders
To behave in a respectful and non-threatening manner towards staff and other clients of the Health Centre on the phone and in person