Are you receiving home support?

Having a written plan can prevent issues and give you both something to refer to. This is especially important if you have a different support person each day, so everyone can follow the same plan and rules.

• Provide details of your health condition and/or disability, and how your support worker should communicate with you.
• Agree the details of support or care to be provided, including medications, allergies, or other important concerns.
• Regular catch-ups can be very helpful to discuss any issues that come up, or to update your support plan if anything changes.

Other details about yourself, not related to your disability and health conditions, are also important, so your support worker can get to know you.

• Any house rules (e.g., shoes off inside, no-go areas, and no swearing).
• Any religious practices (e.g., prayer time, food, statues).
• Any hobbies and special interests.

This can help your support worker understand your needs.

• Do you have the same routine every day, or is each day different?

• Do you have a routine for the morning or evening that you would like your support worker to follow?

• Do you regularly have family, whānau, and friends visit your home, and when do they visit?

Are there other agencies that provide services to you that your support worker should be aware of?

• You could live with other people who may not like having your support worker in their space.
• Let your support worker know of any spaces you want to keep private and just for yourself.
• Where should your support worker park their car? Are there any areas where they shouldn’t park?

• What information can your support worker share with your family, whānau, and friends?
• Is there anything you don’t like to talk about? (e.g., personal matters, family, whānau and friends, or what you do in your free time).

• Let your support worker know whose important in your life, and the role they may have in your care.
• If your partner or family member asks your support worker to do things on your behalf, should they check with you first? Or should they assume these requests come from you?
• Let your support worker know details of your emergency contacts.

Keep the lines of communication open. It can be helpful to have a regular catch-up to discuss how things are going, but don’t wait. Let your support worker know:

• If you feel the support you are receiving is not meeting your needs, or there are changes to your situation.
• If they are not following the plan you both agreed to.
• If they have missed appointments or are coming at times that have not been agreed with you.
• If you need to update the plan with any changes in the care and support needed.

• It’s OK to have a person you trust with you to talk to your support worker, if you don’t feel comfortable doing this on your own.
• Have a family member or friend talk to your support worker on your behalf, if you feel nervous or uncomfortable doing this yourself.
• You can ask an interpreter to be present when you speak with your support worker. This can be for translation purposes, if English is not your first language or if you use New Zealand Sign Language.

An advocate provides free independent support, and can:

• Speak to your support worker on your behalf.

• Work with you to identify how to resolve any concerns.

Help you to write a complaint to the Health and Disability Commissioner.