24 MARCH 2005
NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 56

12. Confidentiality
Advocacy services and advocates shall not make statements to the media, or in presentations, or in personal communications that identify individual consumers or providers, nor comment whether specific actions by providers, either real or hypothetical, are or would be in breach of the Code. Advocates shall comply with the Advocacy Service Organisation’s media policy, which upholds this guideline.

Management Practice Guidelines

13. Consumers’ Needs and Accessibility
Subject to the priorities imposed in Guideline 8 of these guidelines, advocacy service providers and advocates shall take positive steps to ensure that they are able to meet the needs of any particular person or groups of persons for whom they have contracted with the Director of Advocacy to provide services. Advocacy service providers shall therefore take positive steps to ensure advocacy services are equally accessible to all groups of consumers.

Specialist nationwide advocacy services may be contracted with the Director of Advocacy to provide consumers with specialised advocacy. Advocates shall inform consumers of the availability of such nationwide advocacy services and any existing specialised community support groups.

14. Advocate Support
Advocacy service providers shall ensure that appropriate support systems are in place for individual advocates. This may include induction, training, performance management, peer supervision via support and review, risk management procedures, physical safety and appropriate specialist support.

15. Relationship of the Service Provider to Consumer
Advocacy service providers, rather than individual advocates, are contracted to provide services to the consumer. Consumers shall be advised that the advocate is providing the service as an employee of the advocacy service provider.

16. Referrals to Other Agencies
Advocacy service providers shall establish and maintain effective links with relevant agencies, including community groups, and refer consumers to those agencies as and when appropriate.

17. Information Systems
The collection, accurate recording and transfer of information pertaining to the services provided by advocacy organisations, including trends in consumer issues, assists in the efficient and effective management of advocacy services. It provides valuable information as to the present and future needs of consumers and the need for any improvements to the service.

Reporting requirements in line with contractual obligations shall be facilitated by the use of information systems approved by the Health and Disability Commissioner.

18. Publicity and Promotion
The integrity (principles and professionalism) of the advocacy service is maintained by ensuring consistency in all publicity provided about the Health and Disability Commissioners’ Advocacy Service.

The Health and Disability Commissioner will provide all generic promotional and educational material, about the Code and the role of the Commissioner, directed to consumers and providers. Promotional and educational material will, where possible, be in accessible formats for consumers. Any specific promotional and educational information produced by individual advocacy service providers will be sent to the Director of Advocacy, prior to publication, for comment. Formal public speaking engagements and papers for publication by advocacy service providers and individual advocates will be notified in advance to the Director of Advocacy for comment.

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Explanatory Note
The first Health and Disability Commissioner’s Advocacy Service Guidelines were approved in 1996. The Minister of Health approved the revised and updated guidelines on 24 February 2005 following a comprehensive consultation process where opportunities for comment were extended to a wide range of people and organisations that included representatives of health consumers, disability services consumers, health care providers, disability services providers and professional bodies.

The revised guidelines reflect the development and maturity of the nationwide advocacy service and have taken into account the responses received during the consultation process. The new guidelines also clarify the distinction between governing, management and advocacy practice guidelines.

Free copies of the guidelines will be available to the public on the Health and Disability Commissioners’ web site http://www.hdc.org.nz or directly from the Health and Disability Commissioner, the Director of Advocacy or from any of the three advocacy organisations providing Health and Disability Commissioner’s advocacy services by phone (0800 11 22 33) or email requests (hdc@hdc.org.nz).

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Medicines Act 1981

Consent to the Distribution of Changed Medicines
Pursuant to section 20 of the Medicines Act 1981, the Minister of Health hereby consents to the distribution in New Zealand of the changed medicines which were referred to the Minister of Health under the provisions of section 24 (5) of the Act and are set out in the Schedule hereto:

Schedule

Product: Papaverine Hydrochloride

Active Ingredient: Papaverine hydrochloride 12mg/mL

Dosage Form: Solution for injection

New Zealand Sponsor: Mayne Pharma Pty Limited

Manufacturer: Mayne Pharma Pty Limited, Mulgrave North, Victoria, Australia