Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCA Act)

All the osteopaths at Marlborough Osteopaths are registered with the Osteopathic Council of New Zealand (OCNZ), which operates under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCA Act).  The principal purpose of this Act is to protect the health and safety of members of the public by providing for mechanisms to ensure that health practitioners are competent and fit to practise their professions.

As patients of registered healthcare providers, you (patients of osteopaths) have rights.  The rights are called the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights or “the Code”.  You have:

  1. The right to be treated with respect.
  2. The right to be treated fairly.
  3. The right to dignity and independence.
  4. The right to have good care and support that fits your needs.
  5. The right to be told things in a way that you understand.
  6. The right to be told everything you need to know about your care and support.
  7. The right to make choices about your care and support.
  8. The right to have support.
  9. The right to decide if you want to be part of training, teaching or research.
  10. The right to make a complaint.

If you wish to make a complaint, please follow the procedure on our Complaints page.

In addition to abiding by the rules set out by the HPCA, the OCNZ also have a Code of Ethics, which provides a common standard for all osteopaths to follow. It is intended to provide a benchmark for the public on the standard of practice they can expect from an osteopath. More details can be found here.

Patients also have rights regarding the management and security of their medical information.  For more information, please go to our Privacy of Information page.