The newsletter of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc.
Volume 11 / Issue 07 / 21 November 2024

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Pictured above, left to right: Prof Deborah Davies (UC); Priya Chandra; Ivapene Seiuli (HCCA); Mabinty Koroma; Aunty Violet Sheridan (Ngunnawal Elder); Yvette Djomani; Zakia Patel (mHub); Mary-Ellen Hooper (UC); Saima Durrani; Minister Emma Davidson.

Active Beginnings has been designed to encourage multicultural women to stay healthy and active before, during, and after pregnancy. The program and its promotional materials have been co-designed with a group of multicultural women, chaired by HCCA’s Multicultural Liaison Officer, Ivapene Seiuli. You can learn more about this project, and register to take part in free activities on the University of Canberra website.

We’re very pleased to launch Easy Read versions of our Staying Safe booklets, funded by an ACT Government Disability Inclusion Grant. Easy Read is a simpler way of writing that supports people who have difficulty reading, including people with disabilities or people who are learning English. We have worked with the Easy Read Toolbox to translate these into Easy Read so that more people can find out how to get ready for a hospital stay and stay safe.

Download the Staying Safe Easy Read booklets from our website. If you would like a paper copy, please contact [email protected] and we can post you one when they become available.

Pictured above, left to right: Emma Sayers (CHF),Justan Singh (NSW), Kelly Foran (NSW), Karin Calford (ACT), Dr Elizabeth Deveny (CHF), Jordan van Rosmalen (QLD), Shivana Chandra (ACT/HCCA), Melissa Le Mesurier (CHF)

Consumers talked about the difficulties in getting timely, high-quality care due to a lack of GPs and specialists, the costs and wait times to see a doctor. They talked about the extra challenges that marginalised groups face in getting care. Consumers also talked about the need for Medicare to better support people living with chronic health conditions. They called for more programs like nurse navigators and Health Pathways to help consumers navigate the health system and understand health information. The meeting was positive, and highlights the need to for decision makers to understand consumer experiences and perspectives when developing health services and policies.

Here at HCCA, our minds have turned towards the ACT election in October 2024. We are putting together a list of our healthcare priorities to inform our meetings with candidates over the coming months. Members can look out for a very short survey in their inboxes, which will help us to understand what matters most to you.

Kate Gorman
Acting Director

In this Issue

• Upcoming HCCA Events
• Infrastructure Update
• Policy and Research Update
• Health Literacy Update
• Consumer Involvement and Representative Opportunities

Upcoming HCCA Events

Thursday 2 May, 6pm – 7:30pm
Online via Zoom

Join HCCA and Chelsea from the 'Take Control Live Well' Program for some great tips on how to advocate for yourself and your loved ones in health care.

Infrastructure Update

Last week Kate and Darcy visited the Canberra Hospital for a tour of the current Intensive Care Unit (ICU) space. This the area where the new Palliative Care unit will be, once the ICU moves into the new Building 5 in August. Paul McLauchlan, the Clinical Liaison Officer for the project, very kindly showed us around. We are very excited to see this project progressing. This space will provide active palliative care for anyone over the age of 16 with an end-of-life diagnosis. There has been careful consideration of how to make this space feel as homely and non-clinical as possible. During the tour we were shown how the space will be changed to feel more welcoming and comfortable for consumers. We will continue to provide updates on this project, but if you have any questions, you can email [email protected].

— Darcy
(Infrastructure Project Officer)

Policy and Research Update

We were interested to read this week about the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s work around incorporating consumer and carer ‘worries and concerns’ into early working and diagnostic tools to identify deteriorating patients. Consumers often tell us they don’t feel heard or believed when they report their concerns that their condition may be deteriorating. We are keen to see the results of the Foundation’s work to change health service culture. They are aiming to empower consumers and carers to speak up and be heard – and responded to – by clinicians. Learn more about their work on the Florence Nightingale Foundation website.

In the ACT, if you (or a family member or friend) have been admitted to hospital and you are concerned you are getting sicker and you feel your doctors and nurses are not addressing your concerns you can call the CARE (Call and Respond Early) line. You can find out more on the Canberra Health Services website.

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

Provide your input on the  Aged Care Infection Prevention and Control Guide (the IPC Guide) by filling out the survey. The IPC Guide is from the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The survey is open until Wednesday, 15 May 2024.

The IPC Guide is intended to support aged care organisations to minimise the risk of infection for older people and the aged care workforce.

The IPC Guide is part of the new strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. The strengthened Standards are expected to be drafted into legislation in the new Aged Care Act expected later this year.

Would you be interested in taking part in a public health research project?

HCCA, in partnership with Sydney Health Literacy Lab, is researching how we can help older people who are prescribed antidepressants. Your experiences and opinions could make a difference for others.

We would like to talk to people who are:

• older people prescribed an antidepressant currently, or in the past 12 months,
• carers of older people prescribed an antidepressant currently, or in the past 12 months, including older people in residential aged care facilities,
• based in Australia and over 18 years of age.

To sign up for an interview, or to find out more, fill in your details here: Quality Use of Medicines Research – Antidepressants (qualtrics.com).

Learn more about the Using Medicines for Better Health Project.

Health Literacy Update

C recently presented Stretching Your Health Dollar to a very engaged group at Care Financial Services to help them find ways to save money on health care.

Ivapene and Darcy presented HCCA’s annual session on ‘Culturally Appropriate Health Care’ to 4^th-year Occupational Health students at the University of Canberra. The session was well attended, with 28 students joining us.

— the Health Literacy team
(C and Ivapene)

Canberra Health Services has launched a new online tool to help consumers find the right health service in their community. HCCA members and staff provided significant feedback during development of the tool and campaign. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks. Visit the Know Where to Go page on the Canberra Health Services website.

Getting vaccinated not only helps to protect you but also helps protect other people in your life, including infants, older people, and people with other health issues.

You can get the vaccine at your GP or pharmacy. Flu vaccines are free at your GP under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Pregnant people
• People aged over 65
• People with chronic health conditions that increase their risk of severe disease

Some pharmacies are also now able to provide free vaccines for these groups under the NIP – ask your pharmacist if they are part of this program.

Find out more about where to get your flu vaccine on ACT Health’s website.

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: Wednesday, 22 May 2024

The Community Care Program Clinical Governance Committee:

• Reviews the Community Care Program’s clinical audit program, to make sure it has enough safety and quality content
• Reviews ‘quality indicators’ to make sure they cover what’s needed
• Reviews data from consumer and other feedback, as well as from clinical incidents

This committee meets for one hour every two months.

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

 New!  Closing date: Wednesday, 15 May 2024

The ACT Health Directorate’s Quality and Safety Leadership Network identifies and addresses issues around patient safety to improve the quality of care across the ACT health system. The Network aims to guide changes to the health system and improvements to clinical practice, by providing advice and demonstrating a culture of innovation and improvement.

This committee meets for two hours every second month.

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

 New!  Closing date: Wednesday, 15 May 2024

The ‘Primary and Acute Care Data Linkage Project’ aims to connect information from primary care (like your GP) with information from acute care (like hospitals), to get a better idea of how patients move through the health care system.

This is a national project, with each state and territory having a consultation group of key stakeholders and experts to provide insights and advice. The ACT Health Directorate is looking for two consumers to join the ACT consultation group.

This group will start in May 2024 and hold up to ten 2-hour meetings over the following 12 months.

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

 Closing Soon!  Closing date: Wednesday, 1 May 2024

The Education and Training Committee gives advice and makes recommendations governing education and training across Canberra Health Services (CHS). The Committee also considers education requests, provides an annual Training Needs Analysis and Evaluation Report, and finds ways to support CHS development as a Teaching and Learning Organisation.

The committee meets for one hour every second month.

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

**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:
100 Maitland St, Hackett ACT 2602
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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