Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, s 75
If you believe that any of your patient rights have been breached, you can contact a lawyer and seek advice. You can also make a complaint to a district inspector. The district inspector must investigate the complaint and report to the Director of Area Mental Health Services (DAMHS), making any recommendations they believe necessary. The DAMHS must then take steps to resolve the matter.
The district inspector must inform you (or the person who made the complaint) about the outcome of the investigation.
You can find a list of local district inspectors if you go to www.health.org.nz and search “mental health district inspectors”.
Note: If you are not satisfied with the district inspector’s investigation, you can apply to the Review Tribunal, which can investigate further (see “Applying to the Review Tribunal” in this chapter).