The newsletter of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc.
Volume 12 / Issue 06 / 19 April 2025

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Last Monday, 31 March was International Transgender Day of Visibility. As a trans person, it’s great to see members of my community expressing joy and pride in our shared experiences. This is especially important in a time when trans and gender diverse people have experienced attacks in the media and politics on our human rights, including our access to health care.   

HCCA advocates for quality, safe health care for all members of our community. For trans and gender diverse people, this includes things like: 

• Having access to single-patient rooms, or choice about being placed on a gendered ward,  
• Not facing assumptions about our mental health because of our identity,  
• Having private spaces to discuss personal information with triage and reception staff,  
• Inclusion of all-gender bathrooms and being able to use the bathroom we choose without fear,  
• Being able to accurately record our name and gender in health forms,  
• Access to evidence-based gender affirming care co-designed with consumers,  
• Health care staff being safe and visible in their own workplaces.   

A lot of this comes back to the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights, which includes Respect, Privacy and Safety as some of our core rights in all health settings. We are making progress on many of these issues, however we still hear from trans and gender diverse people who have experienced discrimination and unsafe care.  

If you or someone you know has experienced discrimination or had health care refused, do speak up – either to the service or to the ACT Health Services Commissioner. HCCA’s Complaints Guides can help you understand this process and write your complaint. You can also let HCCA know about these experiences for our systemic advocacy.  

We are lucky in the ACT to work with some great organisations who support trans and gender diverse people in a number of ways. A Gender Agenda’s Gender Pathways is a great peer navigation service that helps trans and gender diverse people find the right services to help them live their best lived, including finding gender-affirming health care. Meridian’s Wellbeing Services can offer affirming mental health support. Both organisations also have  research into health care and guidance for health services in their resource libraries – well worth a read if you are a consumer representative.  

Not all workplaces are safe for people like me, but here I feel safe and welcomed by my colleagues and HCCA’s members. I feel empowered to support members of my community to be seen and heard in our work and make real change in health care. I hope other community members feel the same and I encourage you to get involved in consumer representation!  

Yours proudly,  

C Moore (They/Them)
Health Literacy Officer 

In this Issue

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

Upcoming HCCA Events

Infrastructure Update

It’s been a busy few weeks as Yelena settles into her new role. While getting up to speed with the ongoing health infrastructure projects across the ACT, the team have been visiting various sites to see the progress firsthand. 

At the end of last year, HCCA provided recommendations to North Canberra Hospital’s (NCH) Emergency Department on how to make the space better for patients. Last week, Ivapene and Yelena took a self-guided tour to assess the new signage and its impact on the patient journey. Key improvements include: 

• A larger entry space with seating areas 
• A clearly marked main reception sign 
• A screen displaying wait times 
• Phone charging stations 

These changes are a step in the right direction, and there is still more work to be done. We look forward to seeing further progress at NCH.  

The Canberra Hospital's new Emergency Department (ED) has been operating for 6 months. After our tour of the facility a few weeks ago, we wanted to share what you should expect if you present to ED:

1. When you enter the ED, you will be greeted by a triage nurse at a desk as your first point of contact. The nurse briefly assesses your needs and what category of urgency you are in. People who are in high urgency categories may be directed to immediate care.
2. After the initial check, you will be directed to the reception desk, where your details will be confirmed. At this point, you will be able to request an interpreter if needed. 
3. After checking in, you will wait to be called into a triage room, where a nurse will assess your case. You will then be moved to the location right for the care of your health needs. This might be scans/ tests and treatment before returning home. If you are more unwell or need monitoring, or further investigation, you may be admitted to hospital.
   

A poster from the interier of The Canberra Hospital ED

— Yelena
(Infrastructure Project Officer)

Policy and Research Update

"Privacy and Security in My Health Record: What You Need to Know", is a free webinar hosted by Consumers Health Forum of Australia in collaboration with the Australian Digital Health Agency.  This webinar will provide you with practical tips to make your My Health Record as secure as it can be. By adjusting your Privacy and Access settings, you can control who accesses your My Health Record. 

Webinar: Thursday 8 May 2025, 2:00pm – 3:30pm  

Register on the CHF website 

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) is seeking feedback on the draft revised National Prescribing Competencies Framework. The Framework outlines the skills and standards needed for safe and effective prescribing in healthcare. 

Ahpra will host an online information session about the revised framework on Monday 28 April from 10.00 to 11.00am AEST. You can register to participate here. 

You can read about the Framework and read the consultation papers on the Ahpra website.  You can provide your feedback in two ways: 

1. You can complete Ahpra's online survey by following this link.  
2. You can provide feedback to HCCA and we will prepare a submission including your feedback. To provide feedback via HCCA please email Jessica Lamb ([email protected]) or phone the office on 6230 7800. 

This consultation remains open until 30 May 2025. 

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

Health Literacy Update

A couple of weeks ago, C and Yelena headed over to the Canberra Hospital to present at Canberra Health Services Diversity and Inclusion Day on the topic of ‘Practical ways to support people with disability in health care’. Feedback from the session was overwhelmingly positive and its good see health workers so keen to support greater accessibility in our health system.

C presenting at Diversity and inclusion Day 2025

In addition, Ivapene attended some community events:  

• Multicultural Hub Women’s Iftar Dinner  
• Rotary in collaboration with Canberra Multicultural Community Forum (CMCF) Harmony Week Celebration unveiling 5 new peace poles in community languages.  

Ivapene at the CMCF Harmony Week Celebration

A huge thank you to all the consumers and carers who completed the disability and health literacy survey! We are now working on the results and seeking surveys and interviews with health workers – more information on the project page. 

— the Health Literacy team
(C and Ivapene)

Canberra Health Services has published a new guide to their community-based services including early childhood and family care, alcohol and drug services, mental health, rehabilitation and more. You can download it from their website, or we have a limited number of paper copies at the office.  

Are you thinking about reducing your antidepressant dose? It’s important not to stop suddenly and to discuss any changes with your doctor. You need to think about:

• why you want to stop 
• what you need to do to stop safely 
• possible withdrawal symptoms 
• ways to support your mental health 
• what to do if you need help 

Use this resource to help you work with your healthcare professional on a tailored, step-by-step plan to safely reduce or stop your antidepressant.  

Our QUM Program has developed other resources for older people experiencing depression or anxiety, or using antidepressants. You can find these on our QUM Hub – Antidepressants in Older People homepage. 

Chronic Conditions Network Update

The Chronic Conditions Network submitted a collaborative joint ACT Budget submission for the 2025-2026 Budget which you can read here. As a result of our submission, the ABC is scoping some stories on the gaps in healthcare, featuring CCN member organisations. Keep a look out in the coming months for some interviews on a Parkinson’s community nurse for the ACT, some broader accessibility for Hepatitis B treatment and a story on the need for more pulmonary rehabilitation for people with breathlessness and chronic lung conditions. This is a great example of collaborative advocacy born out of the Chronic Conditions Network.  

Michelle, Jess and CCN members talking to ABC reporter Rosie King

— 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.

Closing date: Friday 25 April 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  

Closing date: Friday 25 April 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 Opportunity on our website. 

With voluntary assisted dying coming to the ACT later this year, a group of researchers are working with ACT communities to learn more about what education we feel we need when we’re planning end-of-life choices. 

These researchers would like to train and pay community representatives to become “peer facilitators” and help their community participate (through surveys and discussions) in the Getting Ready research project.  

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

Items of Interest

Date: Tuesday, 15 April 10:30am - 12:30pm 

Venue: Legislative Assembly Reception Room, Legislative Assembly Building, Civic.

Dying with Dignity ACT is sponsoring a forum that highlights the realities of end-of-life care in Canberra. At this forum, you will hear from speakers from around Australia, and Dying with Dignity ACT will outline its campaign to get the ACT legislative assembly to amend the Voluntary assisted dying act to include long term degenerative conditions. the speakers will discuss 

• the trauma caused by late-stage Dementia to the sufferer and their family;
• the stress of having to consider travelling to Switzerland because of the limited eligibility criteria for VAD in Canberra;
• the impact on the well-being of first responders attending suicides. Many suicides leave notes about health-related suffering;
• the sadness of persons who have made their own arrangements to have some control over their end-of-life, but who have to die alone because of fear their loved ones could be prosecuted for assisting a suicide.

PLEASE email an RSVP to [email protected] by 11th April to assist us with seating arrangements. For further information, read the event invitation here, or ring Roy Harvey, Project Coordinator DwD ACT 0439 538 668

Interchange Health Co-op has been put into voluntary administration. The Interchange provides GP care, and the decision has been made to "cease providing all medical care immediately' by the administrators.

This is concerning news given that the Interchange Health Cooperative provides GP care and is known to bulk-bill people and take on complex care cases. The ACT has limited access to 100% bulk billed GP services. 

If you are affected by this closure and need to find a service provider, you can use HealthDirect service finder.

You can find more information in this article.

**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 Kate Gorman.

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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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