The newsletter of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc.
Volume 12 / Issue 04 / 1 April 2025

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Last week, HCCA's Quality and Safety Consumer Reference Group welcomed a presentation from Marcus Nichol, the ACT Health Chief Health Data Officer, about the ACT Health Service Data Dashboard. This is a dynamic webpage displaying activity and performance data from ACT Public Health Services. This dashboard replaces the ACT Public Health Services Quarterly Performance Report and aims to enhance accessibility and transparency of health service data. Currently, the dashboard provides insights into:

• Emergency department (ED) care
• Elective surgery activity
• Walk-in Centre (WiC) services
• Quality and safety indicators, including patient experience and hand hygiene

The dashboard shows trends, including the percentage increase of presentations, discharges and admissions, comparing them to the same period last year. 

HCCA has advocated for more data visibility from the ACT health system, for many years. This new online dashboard is easily accessible to the public. While it currently features a limited dataset, it is expected to eventually include all the metrics previously reported in the quarterly report, with admitted patient care being the next area of focus.

Mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, affect millions of Australians including older adults. Antidepressants in older adults can lead to serious side effects like sedation, dizziness, falls and complications like delirium or seizures. This means it is important to carefully manage your antidepressant medicines.

Go to our Quality Use of Medicines website for new, evidence-based, resources developed with consumers to help you make informed decisions about taking antidepressant medications.

Kate Gorman
Acting Executive Director

In this Issue

• Upcoming HCCA Events
• Policy and Research Update
• Health Literacy Update
• Chronic Conditions Network Update
• Consumer Involvement and Representative Opportunities
• Items of Interest

Upcoming HCCA Events

Monday 17 March, 6pm – 8pm
Online via Zoom

All are welcome to attend this free training!

This training is designed for anyone who uses health services and would like to learn more about the health system, and how to advocate for improvements within the system.

Consumer representatives are the voice of your community in the health system. Learn how you can participate and become a representative in this online training session run by the Health Care Consumers Association. In this training, you will learn more about:

• Health advocacy for yourself and loved ones
• Systemic advocacy for your community
• How to become a consumer representative on a health service committee, and the skills and knowledge needed for this role

Time: 6pm -8pm

Dates: 

• Monday 17 March (Part 1)
• Monday 24 March (Part 2)
• Monday 31 March (Part 3)

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact HCCA by email at [email protected] or phone on 02 6230 7800

Learn more and register for HCCA Consumer Participation Training (Online Only)

Policy and Research Update

The Australian Digital Health Agency recently hosted their C3.0 Connect. Care. Confidence. 2025 Summit on Clinical Governance in Digital Health. The summit brought together innovators, service providers, clinicians, and consumers

You can access recordings of the speakers and panel sessions on the ADHA website.

— the Policy and Research team
(Jess, Stephen, and Shivana)

Canberra Health Services Want to Hear Your Thoughts on the Adult Mental Health Rehabilitation Unit/Day Service

Canberra Health Services (CHS) is running a review of the Adult Mental Health Rehabilitation Unit (AMHRU) and the Day Service to see how well the services are working and to find ways to make it better. If you have had experience as a consumer or carer with one or both services, your feedback would be very helpful and appreciated.

The review will help CHS understand how well the services are meeting the needs of consumers, what is working well, what could be improved, and how can they make the service better for consumers. 

If you are a consumer, you can share your thoughts by completing a short survey through this link - https://forms.office.com/r/ereUQzbnSH 

If someone you cared for or a family member has had experience with AMRHU or the Day Service, and you would like to share your experience as a carer, you can complete a short survey through this link - https://forms.office.com/r/ikAqjXvqPr

Health Literacy Update

Next week is Advance Care Planning Week! Take this opportunity to plan ahead for your health care if you weren’t able to speak for yourself. You can make an Advance Care Plan by following these 4 steps:

1. Think about what’s important to you in health care.
2. Talk to your loved ones and choose who will make decisions if you can’t.
3. Complete the forms. Get help from Canberra Health Services if needed.
4. Share your plan with your loved ones and health care team.

Want to know more? You can:

• Learn about the process on HCCA’s website
• Join our event on 18 March to chat with experts on all things aged care, advance care planning and end-of-life.
• If you already have an Advance Care Plan, review your plan and make sure it is still right for you.
• Check out our death literacy video playlist on YouTube.

— the Health Literacy team
(C and Ivapene)

Chronic Conditions Network Update

HCCA hosted the first in-person Chronic Conditions Network Meetings in February, and we delved deeper into the advocacy challenges our member organisations are facing in 2025. Some topics we will tackle in 2025 include:

• Funding for small volunteer led organisations,
• Integrating referral information to community organisations into the public health system via MyDHR, and
• Getting more patient and referral information to community organisations to GPs via HealthPathways.

Michelle looks forward to a busy time ahead!

— Michelle
(Chronic Conditions Network Coordinator)

Consumer Involvement and Representative Opportunities

Please visit Consumer Opportunities on the HCCA website to learn more about, and nominate for, any of the following opportunities.

 New!  Closing date: 28 March 2025

Have you used public health services in the last 2 years?

You might be interested in joining our planned care consumer reference group.

Canberra Health Services is working to improve how people access public health services in a program of work called Planned Care.

The reference group will help HCCA to:

• Understand the experiences of people using public health services
• advise on the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Planned Care project at Canberra Health Services
• Advise on information and communication that CHS will provide to consumers who are using public health services

We are looking for members who in the last 2 years have:

• Had a public outpatients appointment at Canberra Health Services
• Had elective surgery done at Canberra Health Services
• Have been on a public waitlist in the last 2 years for an outpatients appointment at Canberra Health Services.

You can read the Terms of Reference for the group here.

To learn more, please visit the Consumer Opportunities page on our website.

 New!  Closing date: 28 March 2025

The University of Canberra is looking for 3 more consumer representatives to join the Community Partnership Group of the Clinical Research Rehabilitation and Translation group.

This group launched in 2024, to raise the quality and community relevance of research at the University. Community Partnership group members are people with lived experience or carers of someone with a health condition or experience of clinical care or rehabilitation.

Researchers will pitch a research idea or ask for the group to discuss a grant funding application, or results of a study or something that needs community perspectives.

Members share their views, experience and opinions on these research ideas, research project designs, outcomes, or suggestions on how to make research more accessible for community members.

To learn more, please visit the Consumer Opportunities page on our website.

 Closing Soon!  Closing date: 13 March 2025

Canberra Health Services is looking for a consumer representative to join the Bariatric Surgery Advisory Committee (BSAC). The role of BSAC is to evaluate whether patients are suitable for publicly funded metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS), specifically laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), to help with weight loss and related health benefits. BSAC members will review summaries of patients referred for MBS, advise on patient suitability for MBS, monitor key performance Indicators, wait times, number of surgeries performed per financial year, average length of stay and post-operative outcomes. Meetings are held in person approximately every two months.

To learn more or nominate, please visit Consumer Opportunities.

 Closing Soon!  Closing date: 13 March 2025

Capital Health Network is looking for a consumer representative to join the Capital Health Network Clinical Advisory Council. The role of the council is to provide advice and feedback to the Capital Health Network (CHN) Board and management about CHN key projects, commissioning initiatives, and strategic objectives. The Clinical Council provide recommendations to the Board on key Commonwealth deliverables and initiatives relating to CHNs priority areas. The council meets minimum 4 times per year in person or online.

To learn more or nominate, please visit Consumer Opportunities.

 Closing Soon!  Closing date: 13 March 2025

Capital Health Network (CHN) is looking for two consumer representatives to join the Capital Health Network Community Advisory Council. The role of the community council is to provide recommendations/advice to the CHN Board and the CEO on community priority health needs and service gaps. The council also assesses if CHN activities, strategies and initiatives are consumer-focused (based on consumer feedback and preferences). The Community Advisory Council will also work with CHN’s Advisory Councils and, other community consultation mechanisms via ACT health. The Community Advisory Council meets minimum four times per year in person or online. Each meeting may last 2-3 hours.

To learn more or nominate, please visit Consumer Opportunities.

 Closing Soon!  Closing date: 13 March 2025

Canberra Health Services is looking for a consumer representative to join the Policy Document Review Panel. The panel’s role is to provide advice to guide policy development. The panel provides oversight of CHS policy documents reviews evaluations of high-risk documents with any relevant lessons learned fed back to divisions, committees or working groups. The panel makes sure policies are person centred, evidence-based and focused on the needs of consumers and carers, as well as aligning with legislation and other requirements (e.g., National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards). The panel meets once a month on every fourth Wednesday.

To learn more or nominate, please visit Consumer Opportunities.

The IMAP Steering Committee oversees IMAP Project implementation. The goal of this project is to develop a sustainable intra-muscular injection (IMI) nursing and medical officer education package. This involves a train the trainer program. This program will also focus on the administration of long acting injectables (LAIs) such as antipsychotic medication. It will introduce nurses and medical officers to the ventrogluteal medication administration site, which is considered best practice for deep IMIs. Suitable for new or experienced consumer representative. This committee may suit someone with a lived/living experience of receiving medications in the form of an injection, particularly people who have been on an LAI (commonly referred to as a depot) medication. If you are interested in nominating for this committee, please complete this form and send it to [email protected]

Items of Interest

The International Foundation of Integrated Care Australia are running a free webinar to explore the role of integrated care in addressing the impacts of climate change.

Date: Thursday 27 March 2025

Time: 6pm – 7pm

Format: Online

Cost: Free

For more information and to register: The role of Integrated Care reducing health impacts of Climate Change

**FREE interpreter services available over the phone via the Australian Government’s Translation and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450**

© 2025 Health Care Consumers' Association Inc, All rights reserved. Edited by Darlene Cox.

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70 Maclaurin Crescent Chifley ACT 2606
02 6230 7800

Consumer Bites is the newsletter of the Health Care Consumers' Association. Consumer Bites provides a small snippet of health related articles our members might find interesting to consider and analyse. The HCCA does not endorse any opinions or the claims contained within the articles.

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