Annual Report 2015 16 - Health Care Consumers' Association · annual-report.html. If you would like...
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Health Care Consumers’ Association Annual Report 2015-16
Transcript of Annual Report 2015 16 - Health Care Consumers' Association · annual-report.html. If you would like...
Health Care Consumers’ Association
Annual Report 2015-16
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This report reviews the activities
and achievements of Health Care
Consumers’ Association of the ACT
(HCCA) during the period 1 July
2015 to 30 June 2016.
The report is also available on our
website at http://hcca.org.au/
index.php/about-hcca/governance/
annual-report.html. If you would like
a hard copy of this report please
contact the office at
Health Care Consumers’ Association
100 Maitland Street, Hackett ACT 2602
ABN 59 698 548 902
Telephone (02) 6230 7800
Fax:(02) 6230 7833
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.hcca.org.au
Annual Report 2015-2016
Blog: hcca-act.blogspot.com
Twitter: @HealthCanberra
www.facebook.com/
Cover Photos
1. HCCA staff, Sue Andrews and
Roger Killeen
2. HCCA Consumer Representatives
at the ‘Thank You’ celebration in
February 2016
1
2
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The full license terms are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode
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Our Purpose Page 4
Strategic Plan Page 5 Highlights Page 6 Executive Committee Page 10 President’s Report Page 14 Executive Director’s Report Page 16
Treasurer’s Report Page 17 Financial Resources Page 19 Organisational Members Page 20 Communication and Promotion Page 21 Health Policy Page 23 Research Projects Page 25 Health Infrastructure Program Page 27 Health Literacy Program Page 30 Advance Care Planning Project Page 33 Getting Out and About Page 35 HCCA Committees Page 36 Consumer Representatives Program Page 37 Consumer Representatives Page 40 Consumer Representatives Training Page 41 Sponsored Conference Attendance Page 42 List of Consumer and Organisational Representative Positions Page 43 HCCA Staff Page 51 Staff Changes Page 53 Financial Report and Statements Page 54
Contents
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Our Purpose
Health Care Consumers’ Association (HCCA) is a health promotion organisation. Our
mission is to deliver better health outcomes through consumer empowerment so
consumers can be in control of their own health.
HCCA is the peak health consumer advocacy organisation in the ACT and we have
supported and developed health consumer perspectives and policy since we were
incorporated in 1978.
We strive to improve the quality and accountability of health services by providing
health care consumers with the opportunity to participate in health policy, planning and
service delivery decisions. We encourage consumers to identify priorities and issues of
concern relating to health and we formally convey these collective views to the ACT
Government, Primary Health Networks, Federal Government and other bodies.
HCCA works closely with consumers and support consumer representatives to put
forward consumer perspectives. We hold consultative fora to enhance consumer voices
and information sessions to improve health literacy in our community and have regular
communications with our members and networks through our newsletter and social
media. We also advocate consumer perspectives in health policy and undertake
research into consumer experiences of health care.
Health Care Consumers’ Association of the ACT
HCCA Executive Committee members and staff at the planning session workshop in December 2015.
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Our Vision
Consumers in control of our own
health.
Mission
Better health outcomes through
consumer empowerment.
Values
We value our members’ knowledge and experience of the health system and their
involvement in their local communities.
Other values are:
• Responsibility
• Integrity
• Collaboration
• Equity
GOAL 1: Effective consumer participation in health policy development and service
design, planning and delivery.
GOAL 2: HCCA, with stakeholders, continues to be a strong and credible voice for
consumers on health care.
GOAL 3: High levels of health literacy in the Canberra community.
GOAL 4: Our members, staff and stakeholders regard HCCA as a strong and
responsive organisation.
HCCA Strategic Plan 2015 - 2016
Sue Andrews, Darlene Cox and Marion Reilly at
the Inclusion Awards - November 2015
Sandra Avila and Joanne Baumgartner
at the Inclusion Awards - November 2015
HCCA staff, Sue Andrews (centre) and Roger Killeen (right)
• Participation and support
• Mutual respect
• Inclusiveness
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Governance • HCCA met all our governance obligations
and contractual requirements.
• HCCA became a health promotion charity
and were granted the deductible gift
recipient status by the Australian Taxation
Office.
• The HCCA Constitution was reviewed by
members in October 2015.
• Eight Executive Committee meetings were held between July 2015 and June
2016.
• The Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee met ten times
between July 2015 and June 2016.
• The Health Policy Steering Committee met six times between July 2015 and June
2016.
• The Executive Committee and staff participated in a planning session on HCCA
priorities for 2016 in December 2015.
• The Executive Committee continued to review HCCA organisational policies to
ensure they remain up-to-date and relevant for the organisation. The Executive
Committee reviewed and endorsed 29 organisational policies between July 2015
to June 2016.
Representation and Partnership
• In 2015-2016 the Consumer Representatives Program supported 53 consumer
representatives and 10 organisational representatives (staff members). Of these,
eight consumer representatives and four organisational representatives were on
Health Infrastructure Program committees.
• HCCA made 81 endorsements of consumer and organisational representatives to
committees, of which 47 were consumer appointments, and 34 were
organisational appointments. 67 endorsements were made to new committees
and the remainder were made to replace consumer representatives who resigned
from their committees.
• In total, HCCA supported consumer and organisational representatives on 158
committees across ACT Health, Calvary, ACT community organisations and
national bodies.
• The ACT e-Health Consumer Reference Group met seven times.
• The ACT Health of Older People Consumer Reference Group (formerly known as
the Aged Care Consumer Reference Group) met six times.
• HCCA met with the ACT Health Executive three times to discuss issues of interest
to consumers.
• Consumer Representative forums were held in August and November 2015 and
in March and May 2016.
Highlights of 2015 - 2016
HCCA Annual General Meeting in October 2015
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Health Policy Submissions
National
HCCA made seven submissions on national health issues:
• Chronic Disease Inquiry – August 2015
• Elective Surgery Patient Information – September 2015
• Primary Care Inquiry – September 2015
• Version two of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards –
October 2016
• Australian Council on Healthcare Standards Constitutional Review – March 2016
• Inquiry Into The Future of Australia’s Aged Care Sector Workforce – March 2016
• Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into the Medical
Complaints Process in Australia – May 2016
Local
HCCA provided 27 responses on local health issues, patient information brochures, policy and discussion papers:
• HCCA Report on Consumer Experience of ACT Health Smoke Free Campus –
July 2015
• Elective Surgery Consent Form – August 2015
• Clare Holland House Palliative Care Service Brochure – August 2015
• The Canberra Hospital Inpatient Election Forms for Payment – August 2015
• Greater Flexibility in Prescribing Controlled Medicine Discussion Paper –
September 2015
• ACT School Vaccination and Kindergarten Health Checks Information Sheets –
September 2015
• ACT Pharmacist Vaccination Program Discussion Paper – October 2015
• The Canberra Hospital Food Services Brochure – October 2015
• ACT Government Budget Consultation 2016 – October 2015
• Review of the Canberra Hospital and Health Services Working with Child and
Youth Protection Services Clinical Procedure – October 2015
• ACT Food and Marketing Consultation – November 2015
• ACT Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug Strategy – December 2015
• The University of Canberra Public Hospital Model of Service Delivery and
Rehabilitation Aged and Community Care Model of Care – December 2015
• The Canberra Hospital Snoring in Children Handout – January 2016
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• ACT Health Consent to Treatment Policy – February 2016
• ACT Health Restraint of a Person Policy – February 2016
• Rapid Assessment Unit Information Brochure – February 2016
• ACT Government Concessions Review – February 2016
• Draft Admission to Discharge Policy for Canberra Hospital and Health Services –
March 2016
• Draft Capital Health Network Baseline Needs Assessment – March 2016
• Reportable Conduct Scheme for the ACT – March 2016
• ACT Health Electrical Safety Policy and Procedure – April 2016
• Draft Capital Health Network Partnering with Consumers- a Framework for
Effective Consumer Engagement – April 2016
• Capital Health Network Baseline Needs Assessment Section on Older People –
May 2016
• Draft ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan – May 2016
• Discharge Liaison Nurse Consumer Handout – May 2016
• ACT Volunteering Statement – June 2016
Health Issues Groups • Team Based Nursing and Patient Care Plans – Chief Nurse, Ronnie Croome –
July 2015
• Arts in Health Care – ACT Health Curator, Dr Jenny McFarlane – September
2015
• Electronic Medication Management System
– Matthew Stephens, ACT Health October
2015
• Supported Decision Making – A.C.T.
Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy
Service (ADACAS) – October 2015
Trish Lord and Dr Jenny McFarlane Health
Issues Group on Arts in Health Care -
September 2015
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Workshops • Improving Communication Channels between
ACT Health and Consumers Workshop -
September 2015
• Consumer Consultation Workshop for version
two of the National Safety and Quality Health
Service Standards - October 2015
Consultations • Australian Medical Council Assessment of
the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) teleconference - May 2015
• University of Canberra Public Hospital Model
of Care Consultation Forum - November 2015
• Surveillance to Reduce Urinary Tract
Infection Focus Group - February 2016
• ACT Health School Immunisation Focus
Group - March 2016
Consumer Consultation Workshop for Version
2 of the NSQHS Standards - October 2015
Health Issues Group on Arts in Health Care -
September 2015
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Dr Sue Andrews President
Executive Committee 2015 - 2016
Dr Michelle Banfield Vice - President
Michelle has been a member of HCCA since 2011 and joined
the Executive Committee in November 2012. She was elected
Vice President at the AGM in 2014. Michelle is a consumer
researcher in mental health and primary health care at the
Australian National University. Originally a biological
anthropologist exploring the behaviour and social systems of
primates, Michelle moved into mental health research after serious mental illness
derailed her grand plans and gave her a new focus. She has a PhD in epidemiology
and population health, using participatory research methods to explore mental health
consumers’ priorities for research on depression and bipolar disorder in Australia. Her
current work is focused on mental health services and policy, using a flexible model of
research involvement to include consumers and other stakeholders in the research
process and ensure their perspectives are central. She is the head of ACACIA: The
ACT Consumer and Carer Mental Health Research Unit.
Sue joined the HCCA Executive Committee in April 2012 and
was elected President at the AGM in the same year.
Sue has worked in different roles in the health field over many
years and is committed to consumer centred health care. She
began her working life as a Medical Technologist at the Royal
Alexandra Hospital for Children in Sydney, then in Papua New
Guinea and later in Canberra. After completing an honours
degree in Science at the ANU in the 1980s, Sue joined ACT
Health initially as a researcher for the Cervical Screening Pilot
Program, then later in the 1990s as Women’s Health Advisor
and also in other health and social policy areas. She has
experience in the non-government sector, having worked for Family Planning Australia
and ACT Shelter and has served on the boards of Sexual Health and Family Planning
ACT, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service and the Women’s Centre for Health
Matters, of which she is a life member. Sue has a PhD in Women’s Studies and
maintains a strong interest in the social determinants of health, including gender. Sue
chairs the HCCA Health Policy Steering Committee and the Quality and Safety
Consumer Reference Group and is a consumer representative on The Canberra
Hospital Clinical Ethics Committee, and the ACT Clinical Council.
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Fiona joined the Executive Committee as Treasurer in 2015,
having served on the committee in the 1990s in a number of
roles, including President of HCCA. She has had extensive
experience as a consumer advocate and consumer
representative in various parts of health care. She has worked on
patient safety issues in particular for more than 20 years – first as
Chair of the Professional Indemnity Review, and then later on
committees at the local hospital, Territory and National level. She
has served as a consumer representative on the Policy Review Committee of Mental
Health ACT, as Principal Health Advisor to ACOSS, as inaugural Chair of Health
Policy in the ACT Council of Social Services and as Chair of the ACT Community
Health Rights Advisory Council. She is completing her PhD looking at the Doctor
Identity and its impact on patient safety. Fiona is currently a community representative
on the Canberra Regional Medical Education Council, an HCCA representative on the
Australian Council of Healthcare Standards (ACHS), a community representative on
the Australian Pharmacy Council and member of the Progress Reports Working Group
of the Australian Medical Council. Fiona is also a member of the HCCA Health Policy
Steering Committee.
Fiona Tito Wheatland Treasurer
Louise Bannister Member
Louise is passionate about women’s health and wellbeing,
disability rights and advocacy. Louise joined HCCA in 1999 and
started her consumer representative role in 2001 as a member of
a Disability Task Group for ACT Health’s Breast Screen and
Cervical Screening Programs. This experience led to her being
appointed to the ACT Cervical Screening Advisory Program,
where she served for 10 years, including 5 years as the
Committee’s Chair. Louise has worked on many Community
Health committees over the years, including the Clinical Review Committee, and was
also a consumer representative on the Health Infrastructure Program Project Control
Group. She is currently on the Quality and Safety Committee for Rehabilitation and
Community Care (RACC).
Louise served for 7 years on the ACT Board of the Physiotherapist Board of Australia,
to help oversee the Board’s transition to a National body. She has previously served on
HCCA’s Executive Committee from 2003-2006 and was part of the Consumer
Representative Training team from 2008-2012. As well as being involved with HCCA,
Lou is also an active member of Women With Disabilities ACT. In 2012, she was
awarded the Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award, for Inclusion by an Individual, in
recognition of her work in the disability community.
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Marcus Bogie joined the Executive Committee at the AGM in
2014. Marcus is the Senior Client Services Coordinator at the
AIDS Action Council of the ACT. Marcus has worked for the
Council for the past 14 years in various roles and has a
thorough understanding of the needs of people accessing
health services. Having lived with HIV for over 20 years,
Marcus has first-hand experience in navigating the health
system and is conscious of the needs of people receiving timely
and accurate information. He is the coordinator of the Blood
Borne Virus Counsellors Network and represents the AIDS Action Council on various
committees in advancing its cause. Marcus is passionate about equal access and
believes stigma and discrimination around any issue is intolerable. He strongly believes
in assisting people to be empowered to advocate for themselves and if not, having
someone skilled to advocate on their behalf.
Marcus Bogie Member
John Didlick joined the Executive Committee at the AGM in 2014.
John is the Executive Officer at Hepatitis ACT – an
organisational member of HCCA responsible for delivering
services for and advocating on behalf of some of our
community’s most stigmatised and marginalised people. John
has tertiary qualifications in Community Development and
Community Education and has experience in health policy in
Alcohol and Other Drug Policy, and Aboriginal & Torres Strait
Islander Health Policy with the ACT and Australian Governments. John’s commitment
to evidence based practice, consumer participation, community representation and
health equity underpins his work with Hepatitis ACT. John has an ongoing commitment
to groups including the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council for Sexual Health, HIV/AIDS,
Hepatitis and Related Diseases, the ACT Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Strategy
Evaluation Group, and the ACT needle/syringe exchange program (NSP) Working
Group.
Indra Gajanayake Member
Indra joined HCCA in 2009 and was elected as a member of the
Executive Committee in October 2015. Currently, she is the
Consumer Lead in ACT Health's Falls Standard Group and is a
consumer representative on a number of ACT
Health committees. Indra has extensive experience in health
policy, performance monitoring, information development and
John Didlick Member
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Bill joined HCCA in 2011 and he was elected to the Executive
Committee at the AGM in November 2013. Since completing
training as a consumer representative he has served on several
committees including user groups for the development of the
University of Canberra Public Hospital. Bill spent 28 years in the
Royal Australian Air Force starting as an apprentice on aircraft
maintenance then working in technical administration and management. He spent the
next 20 years self-employed in the ACT region followed by 10 years in semi-retirement
with an active interest in ACT local government issues. Bill’s valuable contribution to
the Executive Committee stems from his ethics and broad based work experience. Bill
is also a member of the Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee.
Bill Heins Member
Marion Reilly Member
Marion joined HCCA in 1997 and was a member of the Executive
Committee from 1998 to 2012. Marion has also help to shape the
HCCA Consumer Representative Program and she chaired the
Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee until
2011. Marion has also participated in various committees with the
Department of Health and ACT Health including the ACT Medical
and Dentist Advisory Committee, ACT Health Redevelopment
Committee and is currently sitting on the ACT Equipment Scheme
Advisory Committee. Marion was also a member in the first Ministerial Advisory
Committee for Ageing from 2009 until 2011. She is a life member of the YWCA where
she was a member of the Board until 2009. She is a member of COTA and ACT
Shelter. Her main interest in health is where the 'patient' is the central decision maker.
She is also interested in supporting people living with disabilities.
reporting in Australia, and in population research in Sri Lanka. She has a Master's
Degree in Medical Science (Clinical Epidemiology) and a PhD in Demography. A past
President of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) ACT Branch, Indra is
also a member of the Australasian Epidemiological Association. She has a strong
interest in the safety and quality of health care people receive in hospital and in the
community.
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This year, as we report on the past 12 months of
HCCA’s activity, it is timely to reflect on our history, our
achievements and the opportunities for the future in the
context of the ACT Health Directorate’s agenda of
structural and cultural reform, and the ACT election to be
held next month. We can be confident that, as the peak
health consumer organisation in the ACT and a key
strategic partner of not only ACT Health but the Capital
Health Network and other ACT health and community
services, we are well positioned to continue in our role
and develop innovative models of consumer participation
and engagement.
HCCA has been bringing consumers of health care
services together since 1976 and was officially
incorporated in 1978. It was the first organisation of its
kind in Australia, nearly four decades of history and people to be celebrated. It is
important to acknowledge all those members, advocates and supporters committed to
having an input into the shape of health services and the health system, as citizens
with health rights and responsibilities.
Effective engagement of consumers and carers in planning and delivery of health
services is a requirement of the National Quality and Safety Health Service
accreditation standards. HCCA is contributing to the review of the current standards
which seek to address areas of risk to consumers not covered in the original NSQHS
Standards - mental health, cognitive impairment, health literacy, end-of-life care and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. The interest and commitment to issues of
quality and safety in health care by our members is evident in their high level of
involvement in HCCA’s Quality and Safety Consumer Reference Group. As health care
consumers we are increasingly seeking and expecting to have meaningful input into
our individual health journey as well as influencing systemic change so that all
consumers have better health outcomes.
The Executive Committee has diligently undertaken its governance responsibilities and
I thank all the EC members for their contribution over the last year. Two members, Bill
Heins and John Didlick are stepping down this year and I would like to express my
appreciation for their wisdom and time on the Executive Committee.
In December 2015 we held a workshop with staff to review and update the health policy
priority areas in the Strategic Plan. Quality and safety has remained a key priority area
along with the health of older people, primary healthcare, self- management of chronic
conditions, and out-of-pocket costs to health care consumers.
The EC regularly monitors the work of the organisation against the goals of the
Strategic Plan, reviews and endorses organisational policies, and discusses and
responds to emerging health system and consumer issues. Following a lot of work by
the EC and staff at the end of last year, including amendments to our Constitution
passed at the last AGM, HCCA was approved as a Health Promotion Charity by the
President’s Report
Sue Andrews, President
15
Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission. As a result we also have
Deductible Gift Recipient status, which means that we are now able to raise money
from donations.
I am pleased to report that HCCA continues to operate from a sound financial basis.
Current members’ equity is $242,764.00, an increase from the previous financial year.
It has been a difficult year as we are still facing some uncertainty around what our new
funding arrangements will look like. On behalf of the Executive Committee I thank our
Executive Director, Darlene Cox and the staff for their hard work and professional
approach to keeping it all on track.
The impressive scope and depth of our work is clearly set out in the pages of this
Annual Report, including high quality policy input at the local and national level,
consumer based research, an ongoing diverse range of consumer representation with
health services across the ACT, involvement of our consumer representatives and
members in forums and consumer reference groups, and representation on a number
of national professional bodies.
We now have the opportunity to reflect on what we do well and what we can improve
in the future. We remain committed to advocating for a consumer centred health
system, and collaborating with health services to develop innovative models of
consumer participation that have measurable outcomes. We also want to support and
work with services to ensure clinical governance models are reflective of good
practice, and that patient centred care is part of a positive culture of respect and
engagement with consumers and carers.
Dr Sue Andrews
President
Sue Andrews speaking at the 2015 Annual General Meeting
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Executive Director’s Report
The main focus of HCCA is to
improve the quality and safety of
health care. We want to improve
the experience of consumers
and our families. There are a
number of ways we, consumers,
can know how safe health care
is.
The MyHospitals website
provides performance
information for public and private
hospitals in Australia which
allows people to compare the
performance of these hospitals.
In its current form it is not
enough.
There are also performance reports tabled in the Legislate Assembly on a quarterly
basis. These provides more information but do not focus on the elements of quality that
consumers consider important. We want to work with the next ACT Government to
improve this.
Both ACT public hospitals have recently been accredited by the Austin Council for
Healthcare Standards using the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS)
Standards. The results from Accreditation of health services measured against the
NSQHS Standards demonstrates that there are adequate processes in place to
minimise risk of harm and that the organisations have in place systems to respond to
clinical incidents.
In Canberra we need to improve the reporting on quality and safety of care. At this
time, during the election, we will be talking to candidates about their commitment and
plans to improve the public reporting of the quality and safety of our public health
services. This includes services delivered at Canberra Hospital and community health
centres as well as Calvary Public Hospital and Clare Holland House.
As I reflect on the work that HCCS has done this year I am reminded of the important
role we play. We provide valuable input in the form of quality assurance, risk
identification, identifying opportunities for improvement and recognising good practise.
Of course there is more to do.
I am pleased to work with such a terrific team of staff as well as our Executive
Committee and consumer representatives. We need to maintain our focus to bring
about the change we want to see. And we can only do this by working together.
Thanks everyone for your contribution.
Darlene Cox
Executive Director
HCCA staff - September 2015
17
Treasurer’s Report
At the 2015 Annual General Meeting the Executive
Committee noted that according to the Associations
Incorporation Act 1991, organisations with revenues under
$1 million, such as HCCA, are no longer obligated to have
their financial accounts reviewed by an auditor and may
choose to have a certified practising accountant to do this
work. After an extensive benchmark with other community
organisations in the ACT, health consumer organisations
across Australia and advice from the auditor, the Executive
Committee decided to continue to use an independent
auditor to conduct an annual audit of financial statements.
Having an auditor is good practice in terms of
transparency, quality assurance and accountability.
HCCA ended the 2015-16 financial year with a budgeted cash surplus of $52,008 after
the auditor’s adjustments for depreciation, annual leave, accrued expense and
prepayments. The effect of this budget surplus is to increase total member equity.
The audited financial statements show at the end of the financial year members’ equity
at $242,764. This is an increase of $51,999 on last year. The next graph depicts the
changes in members’ equity over the last seven financial years. This financial year
marks the highest members’ equity of the history of HCCA.
HCCA is in a very strong financial position and in the unlikely event of being wound up
has sufficient reserves to satisfy all debts and obligations. Apart from office equipment,
all of HCCA’s assets are cash held in term deposits.
Total income for the 2015-16 year was $769,422, up from $690,412 in 2014-15. The
Service Funding Agreement with the ACT Health Directorate remains HCCA's main
source of income comprising around 86% of total income. In addition to consumer
Fiona Tito Wheatland
$147,526.00
$185,197.00
$141,614.00
$115,616.00
$168,308.00
$190,765.00
$242,764.00
Members Equity from June 2010 to June 2016
June 2010
June 2011
June 2012
June 2013
June 2014
June 2015
June 2016
18
Core Funding from ACT Health $664,123
Advance Care Planning Project $71,637
Other Projects $26,423
Membership and Donations $1,560
Bank Interest $5,679
representation and policy work, HCCA was involved in the evaluation and co-design of
chronic condition services at ACT Health. This created an additional income of $36,200
in our core funding. HCCA also worked closely with ACT Community Services
Directorate capturing the user experience of the Strengthening Families initiative. This
project led to an additional income of $24,238.78.
The HCCA activity funding this year was made up of:
Wages and related staff costs remain HCCA’s main expense. The total staff costs
across all programmes during the year was $617,746, up from $569,287 in 2014-15.
I wish to thank our Executive Director Darlene Cox, contract bookkeeper Meg Rigby
and Office Manager Sandra Avila for their support in my role as Treasurer during the
year.
Fiona Tito Wheatland
Treasurer
19
Financial Resources
HCCA is mainly funded by the ACT Health Directorate. A detailed audited report for
2015-2016 has been included in this report outlining the funding received and how it
was invested across our different programs to advocate for better health services for
our communities. The following graphs summarise the sources of income in 2015-
2016 and the areas in which this income was invested.
19%
11%
16%
18%
21%
15%
Areas in which HCCA spent income in 2015-16
Governance
Communications
Policy
Consumer Reps Program
Health InfrastructureProgram
Health Literacy
86%
9%
4%0.3%
0.7%
HCCA Funding Sources in 2015-16
Core Funding fromACT Health
Advance CarePlanning Project
Other Projects
Membership andDonations
Bank Interest
20
HCCA has 125 individual members of whom 61% are actively engaged with the
programs and activities run by the organisation.
HCCA strongly values the support of our colleagues in the following organisations:
• AIDS Action Council of ACT
• Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Association of the ACT (ATODA)
• Asthma Foundation ACT
• Alzheimer's Australia ACT
• Bosom Buddies ACT Inc.
• Canberra Ash Incorporated
• Canberra Lung Life Support Group
• Canberra Region Kidney Support Group
• Hepatitis ACT
• National Health Coop
• Pain Support ACT Inc.
• Palliative Care ACT
• RSI and Overuse Injury Association of the ACT
• Women's Centre for Health Matters (WCHM)
Organisational Members
21
HCCA uses social media to inform and engage with our local
community on the latest in health and health services.
Our Executive Director, Darlene Cox, and Administration
Assistant, Khalia Lee, administer the organisation’s
Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as keeping our
community up to date on the latest health issues and
services through our newsletter, website and blog.
Newsletter Consumer Bites
This financial year HCCA have published 24 editions of our fortnightly newsletter
Consumer Bites, up from 23 last year. Consumer Bites is the main way in which we
communicate with our members about our consumer representatives program and
policy advocacy work. The newsletter also includes links to research articles, local
events and media relevant to the HCCA policy priorities.
Over the past 12 months, HCCA has seen an increase in our Facebook ‘likes’. Our
likes have increased by 82 people, from 391 to 477. We aim to increase our likes to
500 by the end of this year. We have posted 1073 status posts that were viewed
86,885 times by our followers and members of the community. HCCA posts a wide
variety of information to keep our community up-to-date with the latest in local and
national health issues, new and already existing health services here in the ACT, as
well as updates on what’s going on in the office.
The HCCA twitter page, @HealthCanberra, has seen an increase in followers over the
past financial year. We have gone from 647 followers to 749, an increase of 102
followers. Twitter allows HCCA to stay informed about current health issues that affect
our community as well as providing a platform to engage with local stakeholders and
members of government.
Social Media Training
In November 2015, HCCA was awarded a social media grant to provide social media
training to our members who are interested in learning how to use Facebook and
Twitter. These workshops are currently in development with plans to hold two sessions
later in 2016.
Communication and Promotion
22
Radio
HCCA continued to promote health services and our
organisation through local and community radio. Our
Multicultural Liaison Officer, Yelin Hung, spoke to
Multi Mix Radio on the Canberra Multicultural
Services Station (91.1FM) and SBS Radio (105.5FM)
about our Advanced Care Planning sessions and the
after-hours health services available in the ACT.
Darlene Cox was interviewed by Alex Sloan on 666
Canberra in ‘Canberra Close Up’ in February 2016.
Website
http://www.hcca.org.au
This financial year HCCA has updated the layout of our website to improve navigation
to make it easier to access information. The website gives members and the Canberra
community access to HCCA policy submissions and our newsletter. All content was
reviewed as part of our transition to becoming a health promotion charity.
Blog
http://hcca-act.blogspot.com
HCCA posted a total of 22 blog posts in the 2015-16 financial year which is less than
our target of 50. Our blog posts featured the ACT Budget, updates on new health
services and conference reports from our consumer representatives.
The blog received a total of 1,551 views, a decline from 3,080 in the last financial year.
This is due to the staff changes that occurred to HCCA in 2016, as well as a decline in
health issues groups. The HCCA blog is an important platform for our members to
access information about health issues. In the 2016-17 financial year, HCCA hopes to
increase our blog views by posting more regularly on health issues that are important to
our members as well as encouraging more consumer representatives to share their
experiences and thoughts on the health related conferences they attend.
Yelin Hung speaking at SBS radio
Yelin
Hung
23
The health policy program provides strong consumer participation in the form of policy
submissions at a local and national level on issues which are relevant and of
significant interest to our members. Through our policy work we advocate for a
consumer centred health care system that focuses on enabling equity in health and
ensuring access to high quality health care for people in the ACT and surrounding
region. We work closely with individuals, community groups and ACT government to
ensure that we all participate in creating systemic change and that we achieve better
outcomes through consumer empowerment.
During 2015-2016 HCCA made a total of 34 submissions to government. Of these, 22
were made to the ACT Health Directorate, with four others delivered to other ACT
Government Directorates or ACT organisations. A total of eight submissions were
delivered to Federal Bodies. In addition, we made a contribution to four other policy
issues through focus groups and public consultations.
Each year the Executive Committee sets priority policy areas to guide the work of the
organisation. A workshop was held in December 2015 with Executive Committee
members and staff to review our policy priority areas for 2016. The table below shows
the areas that framed our policy work during the 2015-2016 financial year.
Policy Priority Areas
The table below demonstrates how our policy activity is split across our priority areas
(both old and new). Quality and safety in health care continues to be an extremely
large area of activity with 41% of submissions. This is quite a broad category and
includes but is not limited to comments on responses to local and nation health service
plans. Health literacy and primary health care also made up a significant portion of
activity. We continue to work on a variety of submissions that relate to health literacy,
2015 2016
Quality and Safety in Health Care
Aged Care
Primary Health Care
Health Workforce
Chronic Conditions and Self-
Management
Health Service Innovation and Planning
(HIP)
Quality and Safety in Health Care
Health of Older People
Primary Health Care
Self Management of Chronic Conditions
Out-of-pocket Costs of Health Care
Health Policy
24
however these are now being categorised under other relevant priority areas.
Occasionally we have made a submission or provided feedback on a topic of
importance to our membership and health consumers, but one that does not fall neatly
under our policy priority areas. These included comment on the ACT Budget and the
ACT Statement on Volunteering.
Please note that:
• Some submissions related to more than one priority area, and have been
recorded accordingly;
• Prior to February 2016, health literacy was captured as a category in addition to
the Policy Priority Areas; and
• The HCCA Policy Priority Areas changed in February 2016, so the chart reflects
the total categories used across the reporting period.
Eleanor Kerdo and Kathryn Briant
HCCA Policy Team 2015-2016
25
Research Projects
HCCA continues to work closely with organisations conducting research into consumer
experiences of health services to ensure our voice is heard. During 2015-16, we
completed two major research projects for the ACT Government. These were:
• Capturing the User Experience of the Strengthening Families Initiative
(Community Services Directorate)
• Capturing the User Experience of the Obesity Management Service (ACT Health
Services Directorate)
Capturing the User Experience of the Strengthening Families Initiative
This evaluation set out to capture and analyse user experience of the Strengthening
Families Initiative within the ACT Human Services Blueprint. The aim of the Human
Services Blueprint is to provide a cohesive human services system for the ACT. As part
of this vision, the human services system must enable people to: ‘listen, learn and
adapt to the changing needs of community, making progressive change towards a
person-centred, cohesive and sustainable system’.1
To ensure the system is working towards this vision, it is important to have an
understanding of the user experience of our human services. Learning from and acting
on peoples’ experience is a powerful way to work towards person-centered care.
Narratives from people who use and work in the services can draw attention to what
matters to most people about their experiences of human services.
The evaluation used the Consumer Health Forum’s (CHF) Real People, Real Data
(RPRD) methodology, which provides tools for gathering evidence using consumer
narratives about experiences with a service. The RPRD toolkit was developed by CHF
to assist organisations place greater value on qualitative data about consumer
experience for their decision making and planning.
The evaluation report made a number of key recommendations to the Community
Services Directorate about the Strengthening Families Initiative. It also demonstrated
CHF’s RPRD toolkit is a successful methodology that could have future application for
the design, monitoring and evaluation of human services.
26
Capturing the User Experience of the Obesity Management Service
In this project, HCCA worked in partnership
with ACT Health’s Chronic Disease
Management Unit (CDMU) to learn about
and to document consumer and clinician
experiences of the Obesity Management
Service (OMS), and to support consumers
and clinicians to work together to identify
service improvements.
The OMS is an ACT Health service that supports obese to improve their health and
wellbeing. The service team includes doctors, nurses, dietitians, psychologists,
physiotherapists and exercise physiologists.2
HCCA used the Real People, Real Data method3 to conduct semi-structured interviews
with 14 OMS consumers, and to support consumers to identify the key issues in their
experience of the service. The CDMU conducted semi-structured interviews with OMS
staff. In the co-design phase of the project HCCA convened a consumer workshop,
presented to OMS staff, and facilitated a co-design workshop.
In interviews, consumers identified a variety of changes that would have improved their
experience, but overall saw the OMS as a valuable, evidence-based and trustworthy
service. Consumers appreciate the OMS’s personalised and integrated approach, but
identified barriers to fully realising this model of care including limited flexibility in
service delivery, staff recruitment and retention challenges, and long wait times prior to
and after entering the service. Consumers also identified communication issues
including a lack of clarity about likely pathways through the OMS, and difficulty
contacting and receiving information from the OMS.
1ACT Government Human Services Blueprint - Technical Specifications (May 2014) - https://www.betterservices.act.gov.au/
__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/599988/Human-Services-Blueprint-Technical-Specifications.pdf
2 ACT Health Obesity Management Service http://health.act.gov.au/our-services/chronic-disease-management/
chronic-disease-services/obesity-management-service
3 CHF, Real People Real Data Toolkit, <https://ourhealth.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/rprdtoolkit.pdf
Kathryn Briant and Sarah Spiller Policy Team
An example of the RPRD user experience wheel.
27
Health Infrastructure Program (HIP)
This financial year has seen the continuation of
significant levels of consumer participation in ACT
Health’s Infrastructure Program. This participation
has been across various projects, with some
completing construction in 2016 whilst the
University of Canberra Public Hospital began its
construction phase in this period. Additionally, we
have seen a change in direction in works previously
known as new Building 2/3 at the Canberra
Hospital involving the redevelopment of the
Canberra Hospital Precinct. This significant project
which had involved many of our consumer reps in
the planning stages in 2014 has now been put on
hold. At the end of this financial year we have seen
the disbanding of the HCCA HIP staff team and the
HIP Reps Network as a result of ACT Health
funding changes and organisational restructuring.
The University of Canberra Public Hospital (UCPH)
The Service Delivery Plan and Model of Care for
the University of Canberra Public Hospital was
released on the Time to Talk website for public
consultation in late October 2015. HCCA facilitated
the only community consultation on these important
documents in November 2015 which was well
attended by HCCA members, representatives from
peak community organisations and a number of
ACT Health staff. Following this consultation,
feedback was documented by HCCA in a
substantial submission to ACT Health.
The first half of 2016 has seen the development of the detailed final design of UCPH
involving many HCCA consumer representatives providing input across many and
varied user group meetings held from March to May. The final plans are now with
Brookfield Multiplex who was awarded the contract to build the new sub-acute facility.
HCCA’s significant involvement in UCPH will continue over the next two years in the
commissioning phase, with consumer participation in the many working groups set up
by ACT Health to guide the transition to opening the new facility.
The Canberra Hospital Emergency Department Paediatric Stream and Expansion
Project
Dylan Blom, Darlene Cox and Nicholas
Wales at the new paediatric area at the
The Canberra Hospital Emergency
Department
Meegan Fitzharris and Darlene Cox a the
sod turning for UCPH
28
Following an extended planning process that included HCCA involvement, the first half
of 2016 brought the completion of several stages of the expansion of the Emergency
Department, including the opening of a Paediatric Stream. During a tour of the new
Paediatric waiting and treatment area in May 2016, the HCCA staff team could see
aspects of the design that had come about as a direct result of consumer input. The
flexible, child and family friendly seating arrangement in the waiting area, the child
accessible staff station, and private breastfeeding facility are amongst these. Other
stages of this project to open in this financial year include a new Mental Health Short
Stay Unit, with two more beds, a new Emergency Medicine Unit with 12 new treatment
spaces representing an increase of three beds, and a new Clinical Forensic Medical
Unit.
Staging and Decanting Project – Building 15, Hospital Road Upgrade, and
Signage and Wayfinding
This project has several components to allow for the relocating of various services and
staff to enable building works to progress at the Canberra Hospital. This project
provides capacity for planned bed growth and service continuity. There has been
consumer involvement in several of these sub projects including Building 15, signage
and wayfinding, and Hospital Road upgrade.
Building 15 was opened in this period to relocate several rehabilitation and aged care
outpatient services previously located in Building 3. Building 15 is located adjacent to
the multi-storey carpark at the Canberra Hospital.
The upgrade of Hospital Road, whilst necessary, has caused inconvenience and
frustration to many consumers and HCCA has advocated for solutions to access,
communication, and safety issues throughout this protracted work. The courtesy bus
and accessible entry into Building 3 at the Canberra Hospital are some of the outcomes
of this advocacy.
This period has also seen the rollout of the Canberra Hospital Signage and Wayfinding
package which saw considerable HCCA consumer participation in the planning and
design stages. Internal and external signage has replaced old signage in most areas in
the Canberra Hospital and will be complete once works on Hospital Road, the
Emergency Department drop off, and the main reception area of the Canberra Hospital
are finalised.
Calvary Carpark
HCCA was involved in the planning and oversight of the five-storey 704 vehicle car
park on the Calvary Bruce hospital campus for staff, patients and visitors. It was
completed in December 2015 and brought an increase of 515 extra parking spaces.
HCCA has also participated in the planning and design of new external signage at this
campus.
Site Visits
Over the last year, the HCCA HIP staff team arranged tours of several new hospital
developments in other states. These visits provided an invaluable opportunity to see
contemporary design elements, speak with staff regarding the return on investment for
29
patients, and hear first hand the lessons learnt along the way. In February, we visited
the Blacktown Hospital where consumer driven design elements are featured in the
new inpatient rooms, the open style staff stations and the retail area. Our whole day
tour in March 2016 of the Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth provided in-depth insights
and a significant breadth of valuable information which we will continue to use to inform
our advocacy in new developments and redevelopments here in the ACT. Whilst in
Perth we arranged a half day tour of the new St. John of God Hospital which added to
our knowledge base of what's possible and works well in a new health facility. Closer to
home in May 2016, Elizabeth Porritt, the General Manager of the National Capital
Private Hospital, provided us with a tour through their completed $46 million expansion
which features 42 new beds.
Big thanks
A special huge thanks to the dedicated HIP Reps for their many hours of advocacy on
user groups, governance committees, at consultations and at HIP Network meetings.
Without you, these new health buildings and services would not have the all-important
patient, carer, family, and friend perspective embedded in their plans and designs. It is
not an easy role but each and every one of you has added real value to future health
services in the ACT. Thanks a million.
Kerry Snell
Health Infrastructure Program Team
30
Saludos Amigos!!!
We continue the work of building the level of health literacy in our communities through
the delivery of information sessions. This is part of HCCA’s Health Promotion
Framework and our goal is for consumers to have control and understanding of their
own health. We are working to increase awareness of social determinants of health.
We offer a variety of health literacy topics such as navigating the health system in the
ACT, after hours primary health care options, new health services, advance health care
planning, and understanding Medicare and the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.
It is fascinating to meet new people every time a session is delivered to Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups and organisations. In this period, we delivered
sessions to: Woden Community Services Settlement Grants Program, Seniors
Wellbeing Group, Integrated Women's Network, Navya Andhra Telugu Association
Indian Group, Spanish speakers and Hindi speakers in the ACT community.
We partnered with:
• Asthma Foundation ACT to deliver ‘Live Well with Asthma’ sessions
• Foundation ACT to deliver ‘Culturally Appropriate Care to Canberra’s CALD
consumers’ sessions
• ACT Health Women Services to deliver “After Hours Services-Understanding
Medicare” to North African women.
This year I completed the Health Literacy Development Course 2015, delivered by the
Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health. My enrolment was funded by ACT Health. The
course is set to improve the health outcomes across the Australian population, and
particularly for the most disadvantaged population groups. The course addresses
limited understanding and practice of health literacy locally by building agencies’
capacity to respond to health literacy issues for consumers and health services. I
completed a Certificate in Population Health which equipped me with skills to provide
better quality of information and connect with the hard-to-reach communities in the
ACT, who have often been overlooked in the past. There has been some collaborative
Health Literacy Program
HCCA was proud to win the Community
Organisation Award at the ACT Multicultural
Awards in recognition of our efforts to
promote multiculturalism and the
effectiveness of our Multicultural Liaison
Officer, Yelin Hung.
Nic Manikis, Yelin Hung, Yvette Berry MLA and
Darlene Cox - December 2015
31
work with the ACT Health Staff
Development Unit delivering training on how
to involve consumers in quality improvement
activities.
Much of my work is done away from the
HCCA office, often after hours. It is
important that we go to where the people
are, and this is a core principle of
community development. I have attended
many events, conferences, workshops and
meetings. These include:
ACT Shelter Homelessness Forum
ACTCOSS Conference 2016
Palliative Care Forum hosted by A.C.T.
Disability
Aged and Carer Advocacy
Service (ADACAS)
2015 Federation of Ethnic Communities
Councils of Australia National Biennial
Conference
2015 ACT Quality in Healthcare Awards
2016 Women's Budget Briefing Morning
Tea hosted by the Leader of the
Opposition, Bill Shorten
Refugee Health Forum hosted by ACT
Health
Canberra Multicultural Community
Forum “Meet and Greet” and “Thank you”
luncheon at the Canberra Multicultural
Community Forum
Commonwealth Day Celebration with the
Governor General
The Governor-General’s Long Lunch in
recognition of Harmony Day
International Women's Day Celebration
and;
Pot Luck Lunch at the Canberra
Multicultural Community Forum.
Chin Wong, Yelin Hung and Sam Wong at the
Australian Chinese Association community gathering
- March 2016
Rod Little, Yelin Hung and Dr Chris Bourke MLA at the ACT Council of Social Services’ Conference - August 2016
Sue Andrews and Yelin Hung at the Governor-
General’s Long Lunch in March 2016
32
There has been a lot of work done with ACT Health Multicultural Reference Group
looking at ways to find solutions for various barriers that CALD communities still face
when accessing health services.
I have become a member of the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum and
established a CALD women's group called Canberra CALD Women's Forum. This is
set to be the voice of CALD women in the ACT. We are still speaking on radio
programs as a way of spreading the voice to empower consumers every way we can.
Some of the radio programs we present to are: The Multimix Radio Program 91.1 FM
Canberra Multicultural Station, Yes She Can Radio Program 91.1 FM, and SBS
Spanish Radio Program Hora Trece 95.5FM.
Work continues to find the best practice framework for health services to be
appropriately delivered to the ACT community. We are still working with a number of
organisations and groups who are working within a community development
framework in the ACT and who are interested in engaging and sharing ideas on
resources, practice and tools.
Hasta luego….
Yelin Hung
Multicultural Liaison Officer
Yelin Hung and Christine Bowman at a stall at the
Cancer Centre at the Canberra Hospital
Yelin Hung presenting a session on Medicare at the
Integrated Women's Network - January 2016
33
Advance Care Planning Program
The Advance Care Planning Program came into
being because of an identified need to increase
awareness and uptake of advance care planning in
the ACT community. The aim is to give people the
choice about their healthcare needs prior to either a
visit to the emergency ward or a loss of capacity to
make decisions themselves. This project is funded
by ACT Health through Respecting Patient Choices
for 2 years with the possibility of a third year.
This year provided 42 information sessions
addressing approximately 620 people, giving out
420 complete information packs and 200
information sheets. These sessions can be broken
into the following categories followed by the number
of presentations:
We are proud
of the number of sessions we provided this year. These sessions took place without
one single dollar being spent on advertising. They happened through networking and
the development of relationships. The word ‘networking’ is often bandied around but it
is at the core of this project’s growth. It can be time consuming and look unproductive
with casual meetings that sometimes involve coffee but none of these sessions would
have happened without it. Its power should never be underestimated.
This project also led to a strong connection developing with ACT Disability, Aged and
Carer Advocacy Service (ADACAS) and from this came the plain English translation of
the Statement of Choices along with a workbook for use with people with an intellectual
disability. Given the clear nature of the communication these documents have also
been translated into Spanish and Simplified Chinese.
Also included in the statistics above are the sessions in Spanish, Hindi and those
delivered to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) people in English using an
interpreter. This is a complex area involving cultural and religious beliefs about death,
power, control, and choice, sometimes combined with very little experience of the
Australian health system. It takes time and most importantly trust to have these
conversations.
It is also difficult for participants to engage with the process when the core documents,
Enduring Power of Attorney, Statement of Choices and Health Direction are only
Older people and people with disabilities 10
CALD in English 10
Spanish language 3
Hindi language 2
General information sessions 11
Organisations 4
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders 2
Christine Bowman
34
available in English and there are no plans for that to change.
During the year we have also had the opportunity to engage in a small way with
members of the Aboriginal community through the Aboriginal Liaison Officers at the
Canberra Hospital and addressing the staff at Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health
Service. We are hoping to strengthen those links in the coming year.
However, we must never forget that at the core of these statistics are over 600 people
who attended an information session. From our experience we understand the
motivation to attend these sessions is predominantly the fear of being lost in a health
system with no control over decisions at a time of intense vulnerability, coupled with
confusion over an Advance Care Planning process which presently lacks clarity.
Advanced Care Planning can allay some fears but not all. No one working in this area
would disagree that there are many aspects of it that need to be addressed.
Consistency in documents and approach across the ACT combined with a clear
understanding of the organisational, individual and professional responsibilities, would
alleviate much of the confusion.
There is a requirement for clearer pathways and respectful treatment and
communication at all times, never shying away from the complexity of multiple systems
and intense emotions that are inherent in this area of health care. Honouring the
concerns of over 600 people by working to make the entire process easier and clearer
for everybody is profound and significant work.
Christine Bowman
Advance Care Planning Coordinator
Christine Bowman presenting Advance Care Planning to an Indian
Group in February 2016.
Yelin Hung presenting Advance Care Planning to a Spanish group in
November 2015.
35
Getting out and about
Throughout 2015-2016 HCCA held ten
community stalls in the ACT. The purpose
of having these stalls is to inform the
community about ACT health services and
how to navigate the health system. We
also talk to consumers about the work
HCCA does and the different ways we can
become active health consumer advocates
to make health services healthier. This
promotes better understanding and
knowledge in different parts of the
community.
The following table shows the stalls HCCA had during this period:
Date Stall
11/07/2015 Eid al-Fitir
7/09/2015 The Canberra Hospital
12/10/2015 Calvary Hospital
04/02/2016 World Cancer Day
14/02/016 Multicultural Festival
17/03/2016 Seniors Expo 2016
Pam Graudenz, Yelin Hung and Christine Bowman at
the Seniors Expo 2016
Nasreen Hafesjee and Nicholas Wales at the
Canberra Hospital
36
Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee
The Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee supports planning
and oversight of activities related to the HCCA Consumer Representatives Program
and the selection of consumer representatives for committees.
Chair: Adele Stevens
Member: Alan Thomas
Member: Bill Heins
Member: Marion Reilly
Member: Caitlin Stamford
Member: Pat Branford
(from July 2015 to March 2016)
Member: Nick Wales
(from July 2015 to June 2016)
Ex Officio Member: Darlene Cox
Secretariat: Kate Gorman
HCCA Committees 2015 - 2016
The Health Policy Steering Committee
The Health Policy Steering Committee provide oversight and advice in relation to
HCCA policy submissions and position statements. This year they have been working
hard to establish evaluation criteria and frameworks for HCCA policy and submission
input. The Health Policy Steering Committee met 6 times in this period.
Chair: Dr Susan Andrews
Member: Fiona Tito-Wheatland
Member: Joy Pettingell
Member: Wendy Armstrong (joined the committee in February 2016)
Member: Linda Trompf (joined the committee in February 2016)
Member: Michelle Banfield (from July to September 2015)
Ex Officio Member: Darlene Cox
Reading Members: Shelly McInnis, Fran Parker
Secretariat: Eleanor Kerdo
Bill Heins, Caitlin Stamford, Kate Gorman, Darlene Cox,
Marion Reilly and Adele Stevens. Absent: Alan Thomas.
37
Consumer Representatives Program
In the 2015-16 financial year, the
Consumer Representatives Program
continued to facilitate consumer
participation on health service
committees across Canberra, and the
region. Most consumer representation
was on ACT Health committees, however
HCCA’s consumer representatives also
participated in Calvary, Calvary John
James, Australian National University,
University of Canberra, Capital Health
Network, and private health service
committees, and other ACT and national
bodies.
As always, HCCA’s consumer representatives have contributed significantly more time
than is required to meet our contractual obligations to ACT Health, despite a number of
challenges this year.
• HCCA made 81 endorsements of consumer and organisational representatives to
committees.
• 47 were consumer appointments (volunteers), and 34 were organisational
appointments (HCCA staff members).
• 67 endorsements were made to new committees and the remainder were made to
replace consumer representatives who resigned from their committees.
• In total, there were 53 HCCA consumer representatives in 195 positions on 158
active committees in this period.
• There were a small number of committees which had a consumer representative
member but did not meet in this period.
Some changes to the health services landscape have been underway this year.
The Capital Health Network replaced Medicare Local on 1 July 2015. Some Medicare
Local committees remained, and others ceased, to be replaced by committees relating
to the priorities of the new Primary Health Network. HCCA has negotiated a funding
arrangement to provide ongoing consumer representation as required on Capital
Health Network committees.
HCCA maintains a robust and respectful relationship with ACT Health and other health
services staff, and continually liaise with them to share information, address issues and
participate in health staff training to ensure that the consumer representative role is a
positive and meaningful one for consumer representatives and health services. This
year, the appointment of a new Director General of ACT Health in June 2015 has
Roger Killeen and Darlene Cox
38
brought widespread structural reforms throughout the directorate which continue. This
has meant that some committees which have HCCA consumer representative
members have ended or been suspended as priorities, directions and staff members
have changed. Many senior level staff with whom HCCA have built positive
relationships over time have moved on or changed roles. Due to this, in the first half of
2016 we have seen a slowing of requests for consumer representation on new
committees in ACT Health. Another significant effect of the reforms has been the
cessation of the Health Infrastructure Program at the end of this financial year, which
has resulted in a flow-on restructure of staffing and work programs at HCCA.
In May 2016, the wonderful Caitlin Stamford, after four years with HCCA, moved on
from managing the Consumer Representative Program to take up a role with the ACT
Human Rights Commission. We miss her greatly but we know she has followed her
heart and is highly valued in her new role. HCCA would like to thank Caitlin for her
thoughtfulness and commitment, and the warmth, respect and care she showed
everyone she interacted with as she steered this program to where it is today. Caitlin
remains a member of the Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee.
Kate Gorman takes on the role of coordinating the day-to-day running of the Consumer
Representative Program, with Kerry Snell managing the program overall.
It had been intended that the Consumer Representatives Program and supporting
policy would undergo a review towards the end of the 2015-16 financial year. However
it has become apparent that the structural reforms currently taking place within ACT
Health are likely to result in significant changes to the way HCCA provides consumer
representation to ACT Health. It is not yet clear what form those changes will take,
however as this report is collated, HCCA’s Executive Director and members of the
HCCA Executive Committee are participating in a series of meetings with senior ACT
Health staff to shape the strategic partnership and the practical aspects of consumer
engagement. The planned review has therefore been postponed to enable HCCA to
better apply the successes of the current consumer representative program to the
HCCA Consumer Representatives at the ‘Thank You’ celebration - February 2016
39
future model as it emerges.
HCCA celebrated the achievements of our consumer representatives at our annual
Thank You Celebration in February 2016.
The HCCA staff would like to thank all our consumer representatives for their continued
efforts and achievements in ensuring that the consumer perspective is represented in
health service decision making and design across Canberra and the region. We are
grateful for the time you, our dedicated and passionate consumer representatives, give
to this cause. We couldn’t do this work without you - your experiences and passion for
change are what keep us striving to make health care truly patient centred. We look
forward to working with you on all the projects and challenges the new (financial) year
brings!
Kate Gorman
Consumer Representatives Program Coordinator
Margaret McCulloch, Kerry Snell and Denise Mott Pat Branford and Trish Lord
Sue Andrews and Shelley McInnis Louise Bannister and Anna Saxon
40
• Sue Andrews
• Wendy Armstrong
• Geri Badham
• Michelle Banfield
• Louise Bannister
• Joanne Baumgartner
• Dave Baxter
• Jenny Berrill
• Bernard Borg-
Caruana
• Jo Bothroyd
• Pat Branford
• Helen Cotter
• Jacinta Dugbaza
• Peter Dwyer
• Helen Dyriw
• Leia Earnshaw
• Indra Gajanayake
• Pam Graudenz
• Lisa Harris
• Bill Heins
• Kay Henderson
• Claire Howe
• Adina Jordan
• Roger Killeen
• Adele Lewin
• Rick Lord
• Trish Lord
• Bev McConnell
• Marg McCulloch
• Russell McGowan
• Shelley McInnes
• Chris Mills
• Kate Moore
• Denise Mott
• Fran Parker
• Marion Reilly
• Anna Saxon
• Sue Schreiner
• Adele Stevens
• Alan Thomas
• Fiona Tito-Wheatland
• Ngaire Whitehead
Consumer Representatives
Hugh Crawford, Audrey Guy and Adele Stevens at the HCCA
Annual General Meeting in October 2015.
Consumer Representatives Forum in May 2016
41
Consumer Representatives Training HCCA’s Consumer Representatives Training is a free, two-day course which is open
to all members of the community. Each training course covers five modules over two
days. The first day focuses on health literacy- it provides information about the
different health services which are available in the ACT, how to access them and how
to decide which service best fits a person’s needs. Participants are encouraged to
consider what it is that they value in the health system, and feel empowered to be
active partners in their own health care. This provides the basis for the second day,
which introduces participants to the value of consumer input into the way health
systems are designed and run, and teaches them about effective consumer
representation. Participants also learn about the broader work of HCCA, including our
Health Infrastructure Program and Health Literacy Project. Guest speakers are
sourced from our pool of experienced consumer representatives. The opportunity to
hear about their real -life experiences and ask questions is always appreciated by
participants, and helps them to understand the role of a consumer representative and
decide if it is right for them.
In the 2015-16 financial year, the Consumer Representatives Program team
coordinated training sessions in October 2015 and May 2016. A total of 22 people
attended the training sessions. Three trainees, including one HCCA Executive
Committee member, were subsequently endorsed to health service committees. Other
recent trainees have become involved in HCCA in different ways, including
contributing to policy submissions, attending focus groups and networking with their
colleagues and friends to increase awareness of how consumers can take control of
their own health and treatment.
HCCA’s training courses are usually very well received by participants. Most people
attending do not go on to become consumer representatives; however in addition to
recruiting new consumer representatives for HCCA’s committee work, the training
serves an important health literacy education function in our community and is valued
by HCCA and the community for this alone. Enough new consumer representatives
join HCCA from training each year to ensure that the pool of active consumer
representatives has remained steady at around 50 people for several years.
HCCA Consumer Representatives Training in October 2015
42
The Consumer Representatives Program is proud to continue to sponsor our consumer
representatives and staff to attend conferences and other events. This provides our
consumer representatives with the opportunity to increase their knowledge and pursue
their particular interests, and facilitates discussion and knowledge-sharing amongst our
members after the event.
Sponsored Conference Attendance
July 2015
Healthcare and Social Media Summit
2015
Darlene Cox*
Eleanor Kerdo*
August 2015
LGBTI Health in Difference Conference
Eleanor Kerdo*
Elizabeth Proctor
Aged Care Quality Indicators Forum
Pam Graudenz
October 2015
National Primary Health Care
Conference
Russell McGowan
Indra Gajanayake
Kay Hendersen
Alan Thomas
November 2015
Second National Complex Needs
Conference
Pat Branford
February 2016
Improving Consumer and Carer
Engagement In Healthcare
Kate Gorman*
Caitlin Stamford*
May 2016
National Medicines Symposium
Sue Andrews
June 2016
Primary Health Care Research
Conference
Joanne Baumgartner
Rick Lord
Pam Graundez, Adele Stevens and Sue Andrews at the ACT Senior
Community Sector Volunteer Award 2016
* Organisational Representative
43
List of Consumer and Organisational
Representative Positions 2015-2016
* Organisational Representative
ACT Bodies ACT Council Of Social Services Community Services Industry Plan Project Initiation Steering Committee Darlene Cox*
Child Youth Health Services Network for the ACT and Region Yelin Hung*
Asthma Support Network Steering Committee, Asthma Foundation ACT Yelin Hung*
Women with Disabilities ACT, Executive Steering Committee Eleanor Kerdo*
Residential Aged Care Facilities Audit Project Reference Group Adele Stevens
ACT Community Services Directorate Better Services Task force Darlene Cox*
Better Services Blueprint Evaluation Working Group Darlene Cox* Eleanor Kerdo*
ACT Health
Canberra Hospital and Health Services
Allied Health Executive Meeting Adele Lewin
Allied Health Profession Lead Forum Adele Lewin
Clinical Ethics Committee Sue Andrews Anna Saxon
Reception and Waiting Room Standardisation Project Working Group Denise Mott
Cancer, Ambulatory and Community Health Support ACT Palliative Care Clinical Network Adele Stevens
ACT Palliative Care Committee Fran Parker
ACT Palliative Care Contract Selection Sub-committee Fran Parker
Ambulatory Care Administrative Standards and Governance Committee Michelle Banfield Eleanor Kerdo* Russell McGowan
Ambulatory Care Steering Committee Eleanor Kerdo* Russell McGowan
BreastScreen ACT Community Reference Group Louise Bannister Joanne Baumgartner
Cancer, Ambulatory and Community Health Support Clinical Governance Committee Meeting Indra Gajanayake Rick Lord
Cancer, Ambulatory and Community Health Support Fundraising and Volunteer Committee Chris Mills
Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Clinical Practice Guidelines Review Committee Darlene Cox*
Palliative Care Clinical Network
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List of Consumer and Organisational
Representative Positions 2015-2016
* Organisational Representative
Adele Stevens
Chief Medical Administrator Medical & Dental Appointments Advisory Committee Darlene Cox*
Clinical Support Services Nutrition Standards Group Jacinta Dugbaza
Patient Support Services Working Group Adele Lewin
Community Health Gungahlin Health Services Orientation Project Reference Group Yelin Hung*
Critical Care Division of Critical Care Executive Committee Jo Bothroyd
Emergency Department Paediatric Streaming and Expansion Project Control Group Nick Wales*
Patient Flow Steering Committee Kate Moore
DonateLife ACT Clinical Advisory Committee Jenny Berrill
Director General Executive Council Kate Moore
Executive Council Finance and Performance Sub-Committee
Kate Moore
Executive Directors’ Council Fran Parker
ACT Health/ Calvary Territory Wide Future and Current Services Committee Alan Thomas
Ministerial Medicines Advisory Committee Kathryn Briant
e-Health and Clinical Records Alerts System Steering Committee Bernard Borg-Caruana
Electronic Medication Management Steering Committee Indra Gajanayake
eOrders Steering Committee Denise Mott
Information Management and Information Technology Steering Committee Bernard Borg-Caruana
Telehealth Strategy Steering Committee Russell McGowan
HealthCARE Improvement Division 2015 Quality in Healthcare Awards Lisa Harris
Quality and Safety Committee Lisa Harris Russell McGowan
Canberra Hospital and Health Services Clinical Governance Committee Jo Bothroyd
Clinical Governance Forum Helen Dyriw Russell McGowan
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List of Consumer and Organisational
Representative Positions 2015-2016
* Organisational Representative
Consumer and Carer Participation Framework Review Individual Level Working Group Eleanor Kerdo
Consumer and Carer Participation Framework Review Organisation Level Working Group Russell McGowan
Consumer and Carer Participation Framework Review Service Level Working Group Darlene Cox
Patient Safety Conversations Sue Andrews
Health Interagency Clinical Review Committee Jo Bothroyd Anna Saxon
Consumer Handout Committee (Standard Two SubGroup) Helen Dyriw
End of Life Care Working Group Adele Stevens
Goal Setting and End of Life Working Group Adele Stevens
Health Technology Assessment Committee Russell McGowan
Partnering with Consumers Network Caitlin Stamford* Darlene Cox*
National Standards Steering Committee Darlene Cox*
Respecting Patient Choices Program Reference Group Christine Bowman* Adele Stevens
Consumers in Education Working Group Eleanor Kerdo Caitlin Stamford
Effective Clinical Communication in Handover Research Project Advisory Group Russell McGowan
Standard Two Committee: Partnering with Consumers Darlene Cox* Helen Dyriw
Standard Three Committee: Healthcare Associated Infections Jenny Berrill
Standard Four Committee: Medication Safety Kathryn Briant
Standard Five Committee: Patient Identification and Procedure Matching Lisa Harris
Standard Six Committee: Clinical Handover Russell McGowan
Standard Seven Committee: Blood and Blood Products Jo Bothroyd
Standard Eight Committee:Respecting Patient Choices Program Reference Group Pam Graudenz
Standard Nine Committee: Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration in Acute Health Care Adele Stevens
Standard Ten Committee: Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls Indra Gajanayake
Canberra Hospital Clinical Review Committee
46
List of Consumer and Organisational
Representative Positions 2015-2016
* Organisational Representative
Jo Bothroyd
Health Protection Service Food Regulation Reference Group Kay Henderson
Health Infrastructure and Planning ACT Health Infrastructure Program Strategic Committee Darlene Cox*
HIP Executive Steering Committee Kerry Snell*
Health Infrastructure Program Information Communication Technology Reference Group Russell McGowan
Health Infrastructure Program Staging and Decanting Project Control Group Russell McGowan
Arts in Health Committee Geri Badham
Emergency Department Expansion Project Control Group Kerry Snell*
Nick Wales*
Calvary Health Infrastructure and Planning Executive Steering Committee Alan Thomas
Ophthalmology Service Relocation Project Board Russell McGowan
University of Canberra Public Hospital (UCPH) Communication Operational Commissioning Working Group Kerry Snell*
Nick Wales*
Day Services User Group Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
Marion Reilly Equipment Loan Service User Group Joanne Baumgartner
Facility Wide Operational Working Group Nick Wales*
Hydrotherapy User Group Kerry Snell* Nick Wales* Joanne Baumgartner
Inpatient Units User Group Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
Interior Finishes and Wayfinding User Group Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
Landscape Design User Group Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
Main Entry, Reception, and Amenities User Group Kate Gorman* Nick Wales*
Management of a Deteriorating Patient Working Group Adele Stevens Nick Wales*
Medical Imaging User Group Bill Heins
Operational Commissioning Steering Committee Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
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List of Consumer and Organisational
Representative Positions 2015-2016
* Organisational Representative
Overall Design User Group Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
Pathology User Group Denise Mott
Pharmacy User Group Trish Lord
Project Control Group Kerry Snell*
RACC Inpatient Unit User Group Pam Graudenz
RACC Model of Care Commissioning Working Group Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
Queue Flow Project Queue Flow Project Steering Committee Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
Queue Flow Management Solution Project Working Group Joanne Baumgartner
Queue Flow Management Solution Client Interface Working Group Joanne Baumgartner
Queue Flow Management Solution Implementation Planning and Design Workshops Bill Heins
Medicine Chronic Disease Management Clinical Network Marg McCulloch Trish Lord
Diabetes Services Reference Group Roger Killeen
Division of Medicine Quality and Safety Governance Committee Indra Gajanayake
MH, JH and Alcohol and Drug Service MH, JH and Alcohol and Drug Service Divisional Executive Committee Dave Baxter
Transition to Recovery Consumer and Carer Advisory Group Eleanor Kerdo*
Nursing and Midwifery ACT Nursing and Midwifery Council Eleanor Kerdo*
Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards Selection Panel Kate Gorman*
People, Strategy and Services Canberra Region Medical Education Council Fiona Tito-Wheatland
Consumer Experience Blueprint Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*
Policy and Government Relations ACT Dementia Services Advisory Group Shelley McInnes Kerry Snell
ACT Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Strategy Evaluation Group Eleanor Kerdo*
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List of Consumer and Organisational
Representative Positions 2015-2016
* Organisational Representative
Coordinating Committee for the ACT Strategic Priorities for Primary Health Care and Chronic Disease Michelle Banfield
Multicultural Health Policy Reference Group Yelin Hung*
Rehabilitation, Aged and Community Care ACT Domiciliary Oxygen and Respiratory Support Scheme (DORSS) Advisory Committee Helen Cotter
ACT Equipment Loans Scheme Advisory Committee Joanne Baumgartner Marion Reilly
Community Care Clinical Governance Committee Indra Gajanayake Sue Schreiner Joanne Baumgartner
Dementia Care in Hospital Program Project Steering Committee Rick Lord
Dementia Care in Hospital Program Project Working Group Bev McConnell
Rehabilitation, Aged and Community Care Quality and Safety Committee Louise Bannister
Transitional Therapy and Care Program (TTCP) Executive Management Meeting Trish Lord Ngaire Whitehead
Walk-in Centre Clinical Advisory Group
Sandra Avila* Roger Killeen
Strategy and Corporate ACT Policy Advisory Committee Jenny Marshall
ACT Gene Technology Advisory Council Claire Howe
The Canberra Hospital Smoke Free Environment Implementation Committee Yelin Hung*
Surgery, Oral Health and Imaging Pain Management Unit Consumer Representatives Meeting Marg McCulloch
Women, Youth and Children ACT Maternity Services Advisory Network Sarah Davies Adina Jordan
Child Protection Training Program Revision Working Group Kate Gorman*
Community Women, Youth and Children Quality and Safety Committee Wendy Armstrong
Maternity Quality and Safety Committee Sarah Davies
Paediatrics Safety and Quality Committee Kate Gorman* Peter Dwyer Denise Mott
Women, Youth and Children Divisional Quality and Safety Committee Jo Bothroyd
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List of Consumer and Organisational
Representative Positions 2015-2016
* Organisational Representative
Australian National University ANU Integrated Care Research Project Jenny Berrill Darlene Cox* Russell McGowan
Calvary John James Calvary John James Community Advisory Committee Darlene Cox* Kate Gorman*
Calvary Public Calvary Clinical Governance Committee Jenny Berrill
Medication Safety Committee Pat Branford Trish Lord
Pain Management Working Group Pat Branford
Partnering with Consumers and Carers Advisory Group Caitlin Stamford*
Clare Holland House Quality Improvement Risk and Safety Committee Jenny Marshall
Capital Health Network ACT Health Pathways Governance Committee Darlene Cox*
Capital Alliance (Calvary and CHN) End of Life Workgroup Adele Stevens
Capital Health Network Community Advisory
Council Kate Moore
Connect up For Kids Steering Group Kate Gorman*
Pharmacists in General Practice Pilot Program Reference Committee Pat Branford Russell McGowan (interim)
National Bodies AHPRA Community Reference Group Darlene Cox*
Australian Council of Health Care Standards Fiona Tito-Wheatland
Australian Diabetes Educators Association Research Foundation Consumer Engagement Advisory Group Eleanor Kerdo
Australian Health Care Reform Alliance Executive Committee Russell McGowan
College of Pathology Australian Medical Council (AMC) Specialist Education Accreditation Committee (SEAC) Annual Reports Working Group Fiona Tito Wheatland
Australian Medical Council (AMC) Specialist Education Accreditation Committee (SEAC) Darlene Cox*
Choosing Wisely Advisory Group Darlene Cox*
Consumer eHealth Alliance Steering Committee Russell McGowan
Consumer Empowerment Advisory Committee Kate Moore
50
List of Consumer and Organisational
Representative Positions 2015-2016
* Organisational Representative
Health Issues Journal Editorial Committee Sue Andrews
National Advisory Council for Women Eleanor Kerdo*
National Competency Standards for Registered Nurses Review Project Team Eleanor Kerdo*
National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards Review Steering Committee Darlene Cox*
Royal Australian College of Physicians Capacity to Train Reference Group Fiona Tito Wheatland
Royal College of Pathologists Lay Committee Darlene Cox*
Pharmacy Council Fiona Tito Wheatland
Private Health Services
Ochre Health, Clinical Governance Board Meeting Darlene Cox*
Canberra Imaging Group Clinical Risk and Audit Committee
Marion Reilly
Canberra Imaging Group Patient Care Review, Morbidity and Mortality Sub Committee Marion Reilly
University of Canberra Bachelor of Nursing Clinical Stakeholder Meeting Eleanor Kerdo*
Nursing Postgraduate Advisory Committee Eleanor Kerdo*
Pharmacy Course Advisory Group Pat Branford
Caitlin Stamford saying good bye at the HCCA Consumer Representatives Forum
in May 2016
51
Our passionate and committed staff work to support our members and consumer
representatives to deliver a stronger consumer voice in the planning, delivery, review
and monitoring of health services in the ACT.
HCCA Staff 2015 - 2016
Executive Director
Darlene Cox
Office Manager
Sandra Avila
Administration
Policy
Policy Officer
Eleanor Kerdo
Finished in June 2016
Administration Officer
Nasreen Hafesjee Finished in December 2015
Consumer
Representatives Program Project Officer
Kate Gorman
Consumer
Representatives Program Coordinator Caitlin Stamford
Resigned in May 2016
Consumer Representatives Program
Administrative Officer
Khalia Lee
Policy Officer Kathryn Briant
Contractor - Research Officer Sarah Spiller Commenced in March 2016
52
HCCA Staff 2015 - 2016
Health Infrastructure Program
Program Coordinator Kerry Snell
Health Literacy Program
Office Morale Officer
Antonia the Fish!
Multicultural Liaison
Officer
Yelin Hung
Program Project Officer Nick Wales
Advance Care Planning
Coordinator
Christine Bowman
Office Morale Officer
Hugo the Fish!
53
Staff Changes 2015 - 2016
Nasreen Hafesjee: Left HCCA in December 2015. She took a new administrative role
at the Australian Medical Association.
Kathryn Briant: Started working at HCCA as a contractor in 2012 editing our
newsletter. Since February 2016, Kathryn started working in the policy team on a part
time basis. She continues to edit Consumer Bites.
Sarah Spiller: Started working at HCCA in April 2016 in a research project on the
Consumer Experience of the Obesity Management Service.
Caitlin Stamford: After almost five years at HCCA, Caitlin left in May 2015 to start a
new job at the ACT Human Rights Commission in individual advocacy. This is one of
her passions and we wish her all the best in her new job.
Eleanor Kerdo: After two and a half years at HCCA, Eleanor left HCCA in June 2016.
She moved back to Melbourne to be closer to her family. She is working in health policy
at a health service in South Melbourne.
Nicholas Wales: After nearly two year at HCCA, Nicholas left HCCA in June 2016 to
start a new job with ACT Government in the Planning Directorate.
Kate Gorman: Moved from Consumer Representatives Program Project Officer to
Consumer Representatives Program Coordinator in June 2016.
HCCA staff. Yelin Hung, Kathryn Briant and Sarah Spiller were absent for this photo.
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