The newsletter of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc.
Volume 17 / Issue 17 / 26 September 2025

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In mid-August, HCCA staff and members were invited on a tour of the Canberra Hospital’s food services facilities, presented by Food Services Director, Andreas Seibold. It was a fantastic opportunity for consumers to see firsthand what goes into preparing the meals served to patients.

In the words of HCCA consumer representative Ravi Krishnamurthy:

“The tour gave us a valuable glimpse into what happens behind the scenes, from the moment patients make their menu selections to the delivery of meals at their bedside. Witnessing the dedication of staff working tirelessly from 5:30 am until 8:00 pm across different shifts to ensure every patient is catered for was truly remarkable.”

Holly and Sanjay from CHS Food Services team presented at our September Members’ Forum, sharing updates on the room service trial, a new model of food service where patients have greater autonomy over when and what they eat. Patients will be able to order meals via their mobile phones, with pictures of every dish to guide them. Spoken and paper menus will also be available to ensure accessibility.

If you’re interested in attending the next tour, please email Av on [email protected]

Left to Right: Anthea Kerrison, Evie, Av, Julia Rollings, Mike McCartney, Bob Bannister, Andrea Seibold (CHS) Ravi Krishnamurthy, Linda Trompf, Holly Young (CHS), Lou Bannister.

17 September is Patient Safety Day and this year’s theme is Patient Safety From The Start. The World Health Organization is highlighting children’s safety in health care because:

• Children face higher risks in health care
• Care needs to fit them as they age and develop
• Children can’t always speak up for themselves – they rely on adults to keep them safe
• Safety takes a whole team – families and health workers have to be partners in care.

You can help by speaking up about safety issues, sharing resources about child health and teaching kids about safety in health care. Try these useful resources:

• Need advice? The Pregnancy, Birth and Baby website is a good source of information on pregnancy and baby health. You can also call them to talk to a Maternal Child Health Nurse for free 24/7 on 1800 882 436
• Raising Children Network has lots of good resources on raising healthy kids, including age appropriate information on safety, health care and rights.
• Teach kids about safety in health care with free books from the World Patient Alliance
• Learn about children’s rights on health care
• Build your skills in advocacy with HCCA’s e-learning modules for parents of sick kids

 The ACT Voluntary Assisted Dying Service will begin on 3 November 2025. At the HCCA Member's Forum last week, the ACT Health and Community Services Directorate's Implementation Taskforce provided an overview of how the new service will operate.

Members had the opportunity to ask lots of questions and hear answers about how the service will work in practice. If you have any questions about voluntary assisted dying, please get in touch and we will find the answers for you.

More information will be available on the ACT Health and Community Services Directorate website as the launch date approaches.

We’re also proud to share that Darlene Cox, Executive Director of HCCA, has been appointed Chair of the new Voluntary Assisted Dying Oversight Board. You can read more about the Board, the role it plays in monitoring and evaluation of the voluntary assisted dying service, and the members who have been appointed on the ACT Government website.

The Commission releases newsletter each month that brings together research and publications relating to the quality and safety of health care. This issue includes items on Learning Health Systems, Value-Based Health Care, Health, Research and Education Precincts, medication safety, aged care, transitions of care, Do Not Resuscitate orders, sustainability, and clinical quality registries.

Darlene Cox
Executive Director

In this Issue

• Upcoming HCCA Events
• Infrastructure Update
• Policy and Research Update
• Health Literacy Update
• Health Literacy - QUM Update
• Consumer Involvement and Representative Opportunities
• Items of Interest

Upcoming HCCA Events

Friday 19 September 2025  at 9:30am - 2pm
Southern Cross Club Woden 

Health Care Consumers Association (HCCA) and Canberra Multicultural Communities Forum (CMCF) in partnership with Palliative Care ACT warmly invite you to a community information session about Palliative Care and Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) in the ACT.

In the session, we will:

• Explain the support and comfort that palliative care provides
• Share information about Voluntary Assisted Dying in the ACT and around Australia
• Share information about public health services that can support people at the end of their lives
• Provide time for the community to ask questions and discussion

This session will provide a safe space to share clear information about the services available, answer questions, and respect the values of all communities.

Friday 10 October at 12pm to 2pm

Northside Community Services

Parents, carers, teachers and health services often tell us that it can be hard to know what to do, and where to go when a child is showing social, behavioral, communication, emotional or other developmental differences.

If you've been confused by this, come along to hear from speakers from across the public, private and community sector about the pathways they offer for child development challenges.

You will hear from:

• Canberra Health Services - Community Paediatric and Child Health Service
• ACT Health and Community Services - Child Development Services
• EACH – Early Childhood NDIS Partner
• Spark for Life Psychology
• Little Hands Occupational Therapy
• A Village for Every Child – Collective Action Group for Child Development for 0-5yo
• ACT Playgroups
• Capital Region Community Services

How it will run:

The audience will be seated at tables of 6-8 people with food and drinks, and each speaker will rotate around the room to provide a 5-7min presentation, and answer questions on their service, for each table.

We will share clear information on the different options available for child development services in the ACT to help parents, carers, teachers, and educators have better conversations about next steps.

We invite families, carers, early childhood educators, preschool, and primary teachers and any other educators to come along armed with your list of questions! Note: this event is not open to service providers.

Contact us at [email protected] or call 02 6230 7800 with any questions.

Wednesday 24 September 2025 at 10am to 3pm
Old Bus Depot, Kingston ACT 

This year’s Expo will be held on Wednesday 24 September 2025 and is shaping up to be our biggest yet, with more than 150 exhibitors, interactive experiences, entertainment, food court and thousands of attendees expected throughout the day - following on from over 4,000 guests who attended last year’s event.  

This year HCCA will be exhibiting at the COTA expo with our friends from Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services, Cancer Council ACT, Dementia Australia ACT, RSI and Overuse Injury ACT, CHS, Leo's Place Palliative Care ACT, and ACT TPI Association. 

Infrastructure Update

After a short break, it was great to reconnect with our current Health Infrastructure Consumer Reference Group members and welcome 12 new members as we look ahead to the important work remaining this year. With our recent recruitment and the Machinery of Government changes, we kicked off the meeting with introductions to HCCA and Infrastructure Canberra (iCBR), learning more about iCBR’s structure and the projects planned across the ACT. A highlight of the session was hearing from Steve Hall, who presented the masterplan for the new Northside Hospital. This gave members the chance to share their ideas about what they would like to see in the new hospital’s design.

We had a great discussion, with members highlighting the importance of creating a hospital that is welcoming, inclusive and sustainable. Consumers want spaces that support patients, families and carers. This includes larger rooms, quiet areas, and dedicated dementia and paediatric facilities, including outdoor play areas. Members also emphasised the value of comfort, natural light, gardens and trauma-informed design. Accessibility was a key theme, with priorities such as prayer rooms, all-gender bathrooms and buildings that are easy to navigate to ensure all consumers can use the hospital confidently. Sustainability, staff wellbeing and the use of digital tools were also noted as essential to delivering safe, patient-centered care.

We are grateful for the contributions and feedback shared at the meeting. If you would like to share your thoughts on what should be included in the design of the new Northside Hospital, please email [email protected].

— Yelena
(Infrastructure Project Officer)

Policy and Research Update

Consumer participation at HCCA is guided by our Consumer and Community Participation Framework, which is publicly available on our website. It is time for this to be reviewed to check that it is up to date and reflects our philosophy and practice. We seek our members thoughts and input on this document. You can view it on our policy hub here  HCCA Consumer and Community Participation Framework - member feedback.docx, and drop your comments or suggested changes directly into the document.

If you would like to receive it as an attachment or a printed copy please let Av know at [email protected]. It is open for review until 24 September.

The ACT Health and Community Services Directorate is seeking community feedback on proposed changes to the ACT’s controlled medicines legislation.

Key topics include:

• Which medicines should be covered by a new Chief Health Officer standing approval
• Mandatory use of Canberra Script before prescribing controlled medicines

You are invited to complete a survey between now and 15 October 2025.
Complete the survey: ACT Controlled Medicines Survey
 (Note: This survey does not cover GP-ADHD prescribing.)

All responses are confidential. The survey takes up to 30 minutes.

If you'd prefer to discuss the proposed changes and contribute your feedback to HCCA’s response, please contact Jessica Lamb via email ([email protected]) or phone (02 6230 7800).

The Pharmacy Board of Australia is seeking community feedback on new draft guidelines for pharmacists. These guidelines focus on the safe delivery of medicines and advice to the public.

If you would like to contribute your feedback to HCCA’s submission the Pharmacy Board, please contact Jessica Lamb via email ([email protected]) or phone (02 6230 7800) by Friday 3 October 2025.

Health Literacy Update

The team had a busy fortnight with health presentations and attending events.

Ivapene presented Navigating the Health System to:

• MCCI Italian Social Group
• Winnunga Nimmityjah Men’s Social Health Group
• MCCI Vietnamese Social Group 

Left to Right: LeHoa & Ivapene Vietnamese Group 

The sessions were well received. Popular services most attendees did not know about were the Home Doctor, Healthdirect, and Ambulance Only insurance cover.

C presented on Practical Ways to Support People with Disability in Healthcare at the Canberra Health Services Diversity and Inclusion Day and Advance Care Planning for a group at Dementia Australia.

Help make handouts more health literate!

We have recently received quite a few requests for consumer feedback on handouts and need a few more people to help. If you have an eye for detail, an interest in health information that is clear and easy to understand, and have some time to provide feedback on handouts, please email C at [email protected] to go on our list.

— the Health Literacy team
(C and Ivapene)

To help shine a light on the issue, the Hunter New England Integrated Care Partnership — a team effort between the Primary Health Network and Local Health District — has released a new video series to support both patients and health professionals.

Staff member Liz, who passed away soon after filming, shares her story about living with chronic pain and advocating for humanization in healthcare.

The goal of this project is about listening, learning, and making sure people with chronic pain are heard.

To learn more about Chronic Pain Australia, visit their website at: https://chronicpainaustralia.org.au/

Little is known about ACT residents’ current understanding of end-of-life choices. The Getting Ready project is researching ACT residents’ current knowledge and understanding of end-of-life choices to develop education resources. They’d like to hear from you about your understanding of end-of-life care and your learning needs.

Get involved by doing the online survey or sign up for an interview.

Health Literacy - QUM Update 

The QUM team have been busy working on performance reporting to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing for both QUM Grants. As Grant #1 comes to a close, we will spend September and October working on our big Final Report, while continuing to progress new topics under Grant #2.

Our QUM Grant #1 topics have lots of great consumer resources that are free and available now. They might be relevant to you, your friends, family or others in your networks and communities. Feel free to share around these links to our QUM topic pages:

• Atopic dermatitis (Eczema)
• Gout
• Antidepressants in Older People
• Oral Anticoagulants for Atrial Fibrillation

Our QUM Grant #2 topics are in the early development stages. From later in 2025, we will be bringing out a range of evidence-based and health literate consumer resources for:

• Antidepressants in young people,
• Menopause,
• Secondary stroke prevention, and
• Osteoporosis (secondary fracture prevention).

Do any of these Grant #2 topics spark interest for you?

There are a number of ways we look for consumers to work with us on each topic, as part of our research and design process, and to create and test resources like factsheets, plans and videos.

If you have a particular interest in or experience with any of these topics, please get in touch with Kathryn Briant at [email protected] or call (02) 6230 7800.

— Kathryn Briant 
(QUM Project Coordinator)

HCCA is partnering with the Sydney Health Literacy Lab to evaluate consumer resources from our QUM programs for antidepressants in older people and oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation. You can find the resources on the QUM website using the links below:

• Antidepressants in Older People
• Oral Anticoagulants for Atrial Fibrillation

If you have looked at or used any of these resources, we would love your feedback. Your input will help us understand how useful these resources are.

Each survey is anonymous takes about 5 minutes to complete. Find the links to each survey below:

HCCA is partnering with researches at the University of Sydney. The researchers would like to interview people who had menopause symptoms to better understand this experience. Your experience can be current or in the past. Your insights will help us to create information and education to help other people with these symptoms. 

We welcome people from all backgrounds. If you're a person with a disability, from a multicultural background, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or part of the LGBTQIA+ community, live in a rural or regional area we'd love to hear from you.

Interested in being involved? 

To register, please fill out this form or email [email protected] with any questions!

Participants will receive a $30 gift card as a thank you for their time.  More information can be found in the Participant information sheet

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 Soon!  Closing date: Monday 15 September 2025

When: 4th Wednesday of the month, 1-3pm (Usually one hour, online)

Commitment: This committee has a monthly meeting. Most of the work for this review panel is in reviewing and commenting on documents, outside of the meeting. 

About: The Policy Review Panel reviews final drafts of policies, procedures and guidelines from any area of Canberra Health Services. Documents may provide guidance to staff on sensitive or higher-risk topics and procedures. Each reviewer is assigned 2-3 documents to review, with the consumer representatives able to choose what they consider most important to review. 

Who: This would suit a consumer who enjoys reviewing documents and providing feedback and comments. Panel members do not need to have expertise in the subject matter of the documents, but are there to check that they provide clear, applicable guidance for any staff using them, including people who may be new to their roles. The review panel would like to have multiple consumer representatives sitting on the panel and providing feedback. 

To learn more or to nominate for the opportunity, please visit the Consumer Opportunities page on our website. 

 Closing Soon!  Closing date: Sunday 14 September 2025 

When: Three online meetings a year until June 2026

The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) Social Science Unit are seeking two consumers to join their existing national Consumer Advisory Group. This is an opportunity to give your input and advice to help guide current and upcoming research projects. The project is for all immunisations, but does tend to lean more towards immunisations of children and teenagers.

For full information, please visit the Consumer Opportunities page on our website.

This year, the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare will be held in Canberra in November. HCCA will sponsor a number of consumer representatives and active members to attend this conference.

This opportunity will be of interest to HCCA consumer representatives who are interested in the quality and safety of healthcare and working with health services to improve quality and safety. HCCA members who are working with us in areas such as policy and research are also encouraged to apply.

Dates: 19 - 21 November 2025 

Location: QT Canberra

To find out more about this conference, go to the conference website here.

To submit an expression of interest for sponsored attendance at this conference, complete the Sponsorship form on the HCCA opportunities page here.

If you have questions or would like to discuss this opportunity, please get in touch with our consumer representatives coordinator [email protected] 

For full information, please visit the Consumer Opportunities page on our website.

Items of Interest

Celebrate 11 Years of the ACT Community Sector NAIDOC Event!

Join us and the ACT Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Ms Suzanne Orr, for the 11th Anniversary of the ACT Community Sector NAIDOC Event on the 1 October 2025! Since its inception in 2015, this celebration has become a cherished tradition, growing year by year in size, spirit, and significance.

We hold this event later in the year to take advantage of Canberra’s milder weather, ensuring a more comfortable and enjoyable experience for everyone. While NAIDOC Week is officially celebrated in July, we believe that recognition and celebration of First Nations peoples should happen year-round. Hosting our event at this time allows us to continue the spirit of NAIDOC beyond the designated week, reinforcing our commitment to ongoing cultural respect and inclusion.

HCCA’s very own Pat McCabe spoke with the ABC about how veterans in Canberra are finding it really tough to see GPs who accept their Veteran Health Care Card. The Department of Veterans' Affairs insists the number of doctors willing to treat veterans hasn’t gone down, but veterans are telling a different story.

**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.

Our mailing address is:
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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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