The newsletter of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc.
Volume 11 / Issue 05 / 21 March 2024 

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HCCA held our first Members’ Forum of the year last Wednesday. It was lovely to see some members in person! Especially with some coffee, tea, and great food from Café Stepping Stone next door. Our guest speakers for this forum were Jade Davis and Colm Mooney from the Canberra Health Services (CHS) infrastructure team. They talked to us about plans to make Canberra Health Services facilities and services more environmentally sustainable.

Members emphasised that we need to meet the needs of people in regional areas, use low-allergy plants in facility gardens, and develop sustainability initiatives and measures in consultation with consumers. Members and presenters discussed how behaviours will be changed (such as through better recycling, waste initiatives and moving to electric vehicles) and how CHS can switch to more environmentally-friendly materials and medical products.

There were also some updates on projects that HCCA staff members have been working on recently. Kathryn presented on the Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) Alliance. The Alliance is made up of health and consumer organisations. These organisations work together to create free health education materials for consumers and health professionals. The next topics the QUM Alliance will be looking at are anti-depressants in older people and oral anticoagulants. If you have interest or experience as a consumer or carer in these topic areas, please get in touch with us at HCCA to see how you might be involved in this exciting work in improving the Quality Use of Medicines!

Pene gave us an update on the Active Beginnings project which will officially launch on 20 April! Active Beginnings is for women from multicultural backgrounds who are pregnant or thinking about having a baby. The program team are working together to design a group of resources and activities that encourage women to build social connections and improve their health and wellbeing through exercise. Multicultural Hub and University of Canberra lead the Active Beginnings project, and HCCA chairs the team to co-design the project.

We will include more information about the Active Beginnings launch in Consumer Bites closer to the date.

This week is National Advance Care Planning (ACP) week. HCCA held a community event on 19 March, focused on ACP and related topics. We were delighted to host a panel featuring:

• Janine Rath (Canberra Health Services' ACP program manager) speaking about why ACP is important;
• Linda Hansen (CEO of Palliative Care ACT) speaking about what palliative care is and isn’t; and
• HCCA’s own Jess Lamb, Senior Policy Officer, who gave an update on the progress of Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation in the ACT, and the views consumers had shared with HCCA during the consultation period.

Community participants asked many great questions, and insightful discussions on end-of-life topics continued afterwards over afternoon tea.

Pictured: Catherine Prosser (Tender Funerals ACT), HCCA staff Ivapene and C, Janine Rath (Canberra Health Services), and Linda Hansen (Palliative Care ACT) at HCCA’s Advance Care Planning event this week

Last November, HCCA staff and members attended the ACT Health Forum hosted by ACT Health Directorate. These forums give local health providers and community members a chance to work together, learn, and make health better in our area. They're all about understanding our local health system, keeping up with changes, and building partnerships. The November forum introduced the concept of value-based health care (VBHC) and discussed its potential implementation in the ACT.

The ACT Health Directorate has committed to holding two forums annually, with the next one scheduled for 21 May, 2024. Stay tuned for updates on this event. You can read the report from the November forum here: Value Based Health Care Forum 9 November 2023 | health.act.gov.au (PDF).

Kate Gorman
Deputy Director

In this Issue

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

Infrastructure Update

Darcy and Michelle attended the ‘Turning the Sod’ on the new Southside Hydrotherapy pool to be built at the Lakeside Leisure Centre in Greenway. Monarch Building Solutions has been awarded the tender, and construction is set to commence soon, after the current creche has been relocated and demolished.

Minister Stephen-Smith said that “everything from the size of the pool, to the depth, to the temperature, to the accessibility features, has all reflected the feedback that we have had from the community, partnered with that expertise that we have accessed as we've designed this project”.

Darcy has been involved in community consultation talks over the pool location and design, and has supported HCCA members to take part in giving feedback. Rebecca Davey, CEO of Arthritis ACT, said the Government has been responsive to community feedback however the size of the pool was a concern some community members had.

This new facility will be fit-for-purpose and will replace the Canberra Hospital hydrotherapy pool, which was decommissioned in early 2020. Since this closure, hydrotherapy has been taking place in Kambah and Calwell. These pools are not appropriate for long term use, as they have been re-purposed for hydrotherapy, and are designed for junior swimming lessons.

HCCA will continue to be involved in the design and construction of this project as it comes to fruition over 2024-25.

— Darcy
(Infrastructure Project Officer)

Policy and Research Update

The ACT Legislative Assembly is conducting an inquiry in to raising children in the ACT. HCCA will be preparing a submission focusing on the Terms of Reference that specifically address health care:

• Availability of health services including access to paediatric specialists and screening;
• Support and advice for prospective parents with a disability and/or significant health issues;
• Fertility issues and the accessibility of affordable fertility treatments;

You can read the complete Terms of Reference for the inquiry on the ACT Parliament website.

If you are interested in providing input on one or more of the three Terms of Reference listed above, please contact Jess at [email protected] or call (02) 6230 7800 by Monday, 25 March 2024.

The ACT Health Workforce Strategy 2023-2032 aims to ensure a sustainable health workforce as the ACT’s population grows. The Strategy covers public health services, primary care, private health, and non-government organisations. It takes a holistic approach to building, sustaining, and supporting the health workforce. The Action Plan has been developed to implement the Strategy.

If you would like to review the draft Action Plan or provide input, please contact Stephen at [email protected] or call (02) 6230 7800 by Tuesday, 2 April 2024.

The draft ACT Clinical Governance Framework (the Framework) has been developed to accompany the ACT Health Quality Strategy 2018-2028. The Framework supports safe, effective and person-centred care in Canberra’s public health services. The Framework covers five areas:

• Leadership & Culture
• Workforce capability
• Clinical Risk Management
• Quality Assurance of Clinical Practice
• Consumer & Carer Engagement.

If you would like to review the Framework or provide input, please contact Stephen at [email protected] or call (02) 6230 7800 by Tuesday 16 April.

This year’s Canberra Health Annual Research Meeting (CHARM) will be from 17 to 21 June 2024.

CHARM is all about bringing people together – researchers, clinicians, policymakers, consumers and carers, and more – to collaborate and share ideas. It's a chance to connect with others in the field and learn about the research happening here in the region and how it impacts the ACT and beyond.

CHARM topics include research on:

• medicine,
• nursing,
• midwifery,
• allied health,
• health services,
• public health, and
• biomedical research.

For more information and to submit an abstract visit CHARM 2024 | Health (act.gov.au).

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

Health Literacy Update

Pene, C, and Darcy have been working with CHS to improve signage around the North Canberra Hospital. After visiting the campus last Friday, we were excited to already see some improved temporary signs and more maps. We will keep providing advice on signs to make it easier to drive and walk around campus.

It's National Advance Care Planning Week! Advance Care Planning is a process of sharing your wishes for health care if you couldn't speak for yourself. Take some time this week to think about what you'd want and start making your plan with the resources on the Canberra Health Literacy Hub.

You might have questions about palliative care and end-of-life when you write your plan. We’ve created a new page with information and resources to help you think about these topics.

— the Health Literacy team
(C and Ivapene)

Chronic Conditions Network Update

Michelle attended the Allied Health Professional Organisations Forum on Wednesday, 13 March, to represent HCCA and the Chronic Conditions Network Organisations. The themes of discussion over the forum centred around work force planning, recruitment and retention, digital technology, and integrating Allied Health into National and ACT Digital Health Records.

Pictured: Michelle at the Allied Health Professional Organisations Forum.

— 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: Wednesday, 3 April 2024

The ACT Ambulance Service is looking for consumers to join their Consumer Advisory Group. The role of the group is to give feedback and suggestions to the Senior Management Group about how consumers experience the Ambulance service.

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

 Closing Soon!  Closing date: Tuesday, 26 March 2024

ACT Health Directorate and the Australian National University are looking for a consumer to join the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Research Grant Advisory Group. The role of the group is to advise the research team on a grant-funded project named ‘Developing evidence informed education modules to support safe and high-quality telehealth consultations in general practice’.

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

 Closing Soon!  Closing date: Day, Tuesday, 26 March 2024

Canberra Health Services (CHS) is looking for a consumer representative to join the Movement Disorder Working Group. The committee’s role is to act as a network to develop and monitor a complete system of care for patients with Movement Disorders across CHS.

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

The Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) National Research Network is looking for 3 consumers to co-design research to improve the quality and sustainability of respiratory inhaler use.

For more information, see the HEAL Respiratory Inhalers Co-Design Research Project flyer.

Please email [email protected] to express your interest.

The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC) at Monash University are looking for consumers and carers with lived experience of intensive care to help shape the future of research and improve care for future patients in Intensive Care Units.

Meetings will be held twice a year, or more if needed, in person or online by Zoom.

Download the ANZIC-RC – Intensive Care Members Register Terms of Reference (relevant information on page 3).

If you want to give your input to help make research better, please get in touch with them by filling in this form: ANZIC-RC Members Registry: Expression of Interest | google.com.

Items of Interest

The Department of Health and Aged Care is inviting consumers/carers, interested health professionals, and representative groups to fill in a survey on prescribing by nurse practitioners and endorsed midwives. Your experiences will provide valuable input to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). The PBAC is responsible for making recommendations to the Minister for Health and Aged Care about medicines prescribed through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) by authorised nurse practitioners and endorsed midwives.

The survey is to better understand gaps within the PBS Schedule that may prevent nurse practitioners and endorsed midwives from prescribing subsidised medicines within their scope of practice. The PBAC will consider outcomes of the consultation survey at a future meeting.

You can find more information on the Office of Health Technology Assessment Consultation Hub is here: Nurse practitioner and midwife PBS prescribing consultation survey - Office of Health Technology - Citizen Space.

This survey goes alongside the Department’s work on the Nurse Practitioner Workforce Plan and the independent Scope of Practice Review.

The consultation survey closes at 11:59pm on Monday, 1 April 2024.

For any questions regarding the consultation survey, please email [email protected].

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

© 2024 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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