Dear Accident Compensation Corporation,

Thank you for providing the official information requested under https://fyi.org.nz/request/6835/followup..., received by personal email today.

Within the service contract received, pertaining to physiotherapy under PART B. SERVICE SPECIFICATION section 3 it is stated that;

"
3. ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS (specific to Physiotherapy Services)
(in addition to the Organisational Quality Standards set out in Schedule 3 of Part 1)

3 .1 ACC is committed to purchasing services from vendors who through their Service Providers can provide and demonstrate a quality service. The Vendor must ensure that a Service Provider always works in accordance with the requirements of the NZS 8171 :2005 Allied Health Services Sector Standard.

3 .2 The Vendor will ensure that:

(a) The Practice is certified against NZS 8171 :2005 Allied Health Services Sector Standard by a Conformity Assessment Body approved by ACC; and

(b) The principal provider or senior physiotherapist is an Associate, Full Member or Fellow of the New Zealand College of Physiotherapists. "

At the following Standards New Zealand website https://www.standards.govt.nz/news/media... ACC's involvement in the funding and development of the NZS 8171 :2005 Allied Health Services Sector Standard has been quoted below;

"While ACC endorsed both of these standards, the development and use of these standards in the Endorsed Provider Network (EPN) Physiotherapy Services contract, highlighted to ACC that the current system allowed for multiple standards to be developed and used outside of any framework.

As ACC is a major funder of allied health services across New Zealand and wanted to ensure consistency in terms of safety and quality, it contracted SNZ to develop a national Standard for allied health services and an audit workbook tool to be used by providers and accreditation bodies to prepare for and to audit against the Standard.

NZS 8171 will align with the requirements of NZS 8134 Health and Disability Sector Standards and is being developed to focus on the special needs of consumers of services provided by allied health professionals in both public and private health and disability settings.

The Standard has been designed to establish consistent, safe and reasonable levels of care for consumers of services provided by allied health services in New Zealand. It also provides a framework for the continuous improvement of these services. It will be used alongside professional codes and guidelines recognized by professional bodies.

Allied health service providers may apply the Standard voluntarily. Compliance would be demonstrated through an audit provided by an agency designated under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001, known as Designated Audit Agencies (DAAs). DAAs and any Conformity Assessment Body that wish to audit against the Standards, when required for ACC contracts, will need to meet ACC’s auditing requirements. This process allows for consistency across certification agencies.

While this Standard will not be mandatory, its implementation will assist providers in meeting the requirements of legislation, funders and certification frameworks.

Once developed, ACC will endorse the Allied Health Services Sector Standard as meeting the accreditation criteria to access the EPN Physiotherapy Services Contract.

In addition to the Allied Health Services Sector Standard, two audit workbooks - one with sector solutions specifically for physiotherapists and one for chiropractors will be developed. As other allied health groups wish to become accredited against this Standards, audit workbooks may be developed to meet this need."

ACC's requirement within their service contract that "The Practice is certified against NZS 8171 :2005 Allied Health Services Sector Standard by a Conformity Assessment Body approved by ACC; makes the treatment provider that I have been treated by mandatorily obligated to comply and adhere with the NZS 8171 :2005 Allied Health Services Sector Standard.

I have been unable to find an open source copy of the the NZS 8171 :2005 Allied Health Services Sector Standard nor a copy of the Allied Health Services Sector Standard, audit workbook with sector solutions specifically for physiotherapists.

OIA Request;

Since the mandatory certification of the physiotherapy treatment provider referred to in https://fyi.org.nz/request/6835/followup..., is required by ACC under NZS 8171 :2005 Allied Health Services Sector Standard is one of the additional principal standards used by the ACC the I am therefore respectfully seeking the provisions of copies of the NZS 8171 :2005 Allied Health Services Sector Standard, and copies of the Allied Health Services Sector Standard, audit workbook with sector solutions specifically for physiotherapists that applied between the following periods;

5 March 2012 and 5 May 2012, and

14 May 2017 through to present,

The provision of this information will provide transparency and clarity with respect to the Corporations and the treatment providers obligations to me at both these junctures in my treatment/requests for remedies timeline, and should satisfactory resolution not result, this information will be required for the purposes of seeking mediation through both the Corporation's and the treatment provider's professional and regulatory association's.

I am happy to have the above official information emailed directly to my email address which is [email address], and would appreciate the application of urgency in this instance, respectfully requesting that this information is made available within 10 working days from the date of this request, being by the end of business close on 8th February 2018.

In satisfying section 12 (3) of the OIA 1982, I advise that I require this information for the purposes of seeking remedial action from both ACC and a treatment provider in relation to outstanding and unresolved matters concerning claims for covers and entitlements which were not registered correctly by and or with the Corporation at the time of treatment, nor at the time when I sought redress for the matters concerned.

The provision of this information will provide transparency and clarity with respect to the Corporations and the treatment providers obligations to me at both these junctures in my treatment/requests for remedies timeline, and should satisfactory resolution not result, this information will be required for the purposes of seeking mediation through both the Corporation's and the treatment provider's professional and regulatory association's.

I thank you for your time and assistance.

Yours faithfully,

David Lawson