Consumer and Community Engagement Unit Update

Issue 21 – March 2017

Consumer & Community Newsletter

Community Engagement Unit

I look forward to continue working with you for better healthcare outcomes.

The value of having consumer and community perspectives within our

Network is immeasurable.

We are fortunate to be able to access the depth of wisdom and knowledge

of lived experience to influence our perspectives.

One of our strengths is the increased role that cultural awareness plays in

our decision making.

In the last 12 months there has been a considered focus towards shaping

and strengthening the voice of women, children, teenagers and families who identify as coming

from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background.

The proportion of Australians born overseas is now at the highest point in more than 100 years,

approximately 6.6 million people (28%). Since 2005-6, migration has been the main driver of

Australia’s population growth. As a health organisation we share the vision of Multicultural SA to

achieve an open, inclusive, cohesive and equitable society, where cultural, linguistic, religious

and diversity is understood, valued and supported.

The Network’s Cultural Roundtable comprises staff, consumers and community members. It has

partnered with Multicultural Youth South Australia and Multicultural Communities of South

Australia to ensure that we are advancing the needs, interest and concerns of our targeted health

populations. The Cultural Roundtable has four objectives:

1. To promote cultural considerations and capability in direct care provision.

2. To support education, training and capacity development of Women’s and Children’s Health

Network (WCHN) staff to be culturally aware practitioners.

3. To support productive diversity by providing easy access to health information to ensure that

language is not a barrier to patient care.

4. To celebrate multiculturalism.

Following on from last year’s inaugural Cultural Diversity Month the next 31 days will again be a

magnificent celebration. The theme of for the month is “everyone belongs”.

Over the next month consumers, families and staff are encouraged to make moments of magic. I

encourage you to talk openly and have discussions about respect, fairness and a sense of

belonging. The Cultural Roundtable believes that when we discuss with an open-mind we can

truly understand the health impacts of migration, not speaking English, race and ethnicity.

Take advantage of decorating your work space and make sure you attend the events, particularly

the Grand Rounds on 15 and 29 March which promise to be entertaining and informative. Please

come to the Community Expo on 16 March between 12pm and 3pm, on the Play Deck to visit the

stalls hosted by seven local not-for-profit organisations which provide migrant and refugee

services. Finally, please have fun and celebrate cultural diversity.

Allan J Ball

Manager, Consumer and Community Engagement

NOTICEBOARD

Save these dates! March 2017

1 Consumer e-news launched.

1-31 Cultural Diversity Month.

1-3 Listening Post. Women's and Babies Division.

9 Roving Coffee Club. WCH wards.

10 Citizen Jury. Members only.

10 CAMHS consultation closes.

12 Consumer in-real-life journal club. Brougham Gardens

adjacent WCH. 11am – 12:30pm.

15 Cultural Diversity Grand Round. (Training for all).

VENUE: Queen Victoria Lecture Theatre, WCH.

16 Cultural Diversity Community Expo. All welcome.

VENUE: Play Deck, WCH.

23 Consumer Coffee Club. Café, Level 2 WCH.

All welcome.

27-31 Listening Post. Child and Family Health Service

(CaFHS).

New Committee

Infection Control Committee looking for caregiver member

The Infection Control Committee has a responsibility to oversee infection prevention and control

activity within WCHN. The committee is currently looking for a consumer representative for a

two-year term. The consumer member is a valued and important role, which ensures activities

of the committee include the consumer voice by providing a consumer perspective on agenda

items during discussions and facilitating broader consultation with consumers. Email Allan for

the job description.

Expressions of Interest close 20 March 2017.

Training

Cultural Awareness - Wednesday, 15 March 12:30pm – 1:30pm.

Hear from two inspiring speakers from the Muslim and Sikh communities. Venue: Queen

Victoria Lecture Theatre, Women’s and Children’s Hospital Campus. RSVP to Allan

In-real life journal club - Sunday, 12 January 11:00am – 12:00pm.

To discuss patient reported outcome measurements, article from Planetree. Venue: Brougham

Place Gardens, parklands overlooking the Hospital. Gather at Allan’s office. RSVP to Allan.

Consumer Training Calendar 2017

A new training calendar is available on the website for 2017. Check it out.

Grand Rounds (Lecture series on innovation, health and research)

From January 2017 all consumer representatives signed up to the database will have access to

the weekly Grand Rounds.

A Grand Round is a lecture series that provides WCHN staff with education on a range of

health topics relating to our core business. They are held every Wednesday in the Queen

Victoria Lecture Theatre from 12pm – 1:30pm. This is a voluntary task that consumer

representatives can opt in to attending. Family and Friends are welcome to join you.

1 March – Sepsis Kills NSW Commission working with Malcom Green.

8 March – Hear from Vicki Kaminski, Chief Executive SA Health.

15 March – Cultural Diversity Matters. Two consumer representatives.

29 March – Accessing WCHN interpreter services.

Basecamp news

E-Journal Club March 2017

Consumers, the health system and health literacy: taking action

to improve safety and quality. Consultation Paper.

View, comment and debate now.

Direct Consultation

Open for three weeks in March. Please comment on the Button Battery Facebook Strategy.

Open to Friends and Family members.

Not a member of Basecamp?

Visit our website to learn how to get involved. Invitations are open to WCHN staff, consumers,

caregivers, family members and community members.

For public comment

Proposed organisational structure for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

Visit the web to find out how you can complete a survey to help redesign the future of CAMHS.

From 1-10 March; Tiffany, Tanya, Jason, Ruby, Sharon and Tara will be available in CAMHS

sites from Victor Harbor to Kadina hosting listening posts. Contact your local office to find out

when a listening post will be occurring.

We want to hear about your hospital experience.

Please provide your letterbox feedback by answering 3 questions at www.wch.sa.gov.au.

FROM THE HEALTH DIVISIONS

Cultural Diversity Month

The Women’s and Children’s Health Network will again be holding Cultural Diversity Month

during March. This celebration of the many cultures that make up our community began last

year and was a wonderful success. Staff can access a poster for display by emailing Allan.

Cultural Diversity Month, which is an initiative of our Cultural Roundtable, is about

inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. By acknowledging and

embracing our multicultural society, the WCHN is demonstrating the principle that all members

of our community should be treated with dignity and respect, which includes having respect for

the array of cultures people from other lands bring to this country.

All WCHN wards, services and community sites are encouraged to decorate their work spaces

in the colour orange, and host morning teas and events to celebrate cultural diversity, and there

will be a number of special events including a community expo and Grand Rounds dedicated to

multicultural understanding. WCHN teams are being encouraged to take a photo of their

celebrations and to share in a few sentences how their event or decorations help to celebrate

cultural diversity.

These photos will then be used for a display in one of the galleries in the Hospital in April/May

as a way of promoting our Network’s commitment to cultural diversity.

Materials are being provided by TeamKids to help units with their creativity.

Cultural Diversity Month Program

1-31 March Make a pledge for the month about what you will do to celebrate cultural

diversity and bring harmony to the community. Over the full month in the

Café Level 2, WCH Campus.

1-31 March Team Kids “Imagine Peace” project. A global project undertaken by Yoko

Ono, where visitors to the Hospital can write a wish on tape and attach it to

a tree displayed in the Hospital’s Arts in Health Galleries.

15 March Ground Round: Hear from two inspirational speakers representing the

Sikh and Muslim communities. Pam and Zak will explore cultural themes

and misconceptions associated with their communities of faith. A special

performance from members of the Nigerian community. This is sure to be

standing room only, so come early to get the best seat.

16 March Cultural Diversity Community Expo from 12pm – 2pm on the Play Deck.

Staff can find out information from members of the WCHN Cultural

Roundtable The Family Precinct, including Kidsafe SA and the Aboriginal

Liaison Unit will host an open day together with Multicultural Youth South

Australia, Australian Refugee Association, Australian Migrant Resource

Centre, Multicultural Communities of South Australia, Welcome to Australia

Organisation, Turbans and Trust and the African Women’s Federation of

South Australia who will have information tables on the Play Deck. A

consumer representative involved in henna art will provide free

entertainment.

20–24 March Cultural book reading for children of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

21 March Harmony Day. Photos for competition must be submitted.

29 March Ground Round: How to use interpretation services.

Special announcement: Multicultural Award Finalist, 21 March

The WCHN Cultural Roundtable has been nominated as a finalist for a Governor’s Multicultural

Award in the category of “Public Sector”. The inaugural and 2016 Cultural Diversity Month

celebrations was nominated and recognised for his ability to promote cultural awareness. The

CEO, Director Consumer and Community Engagement and Cultural Roundtable consumers will

be attending a special function on 21 March at Government House.

Person and Family Centred Care Awards

Have you received outstanding care by one of our staff?

Nominate them today at www.wch.sa.gov.au or use the QR code.

Great Wall of Gratitude

In January, the Person and Family Centred Care Awards were launched to recognise

outstanding health care provision by WCHN staff. Part of this initiative was to roll out a better

way that consumers could give a quick, yet public, compliment to staff; known as the “Great

Wall of Gratitude”.

Sarah Reid (Administration Co-ordinator from Metropolitan Youth Health, Talking Realities

Young Parents Program at their Western site) has shown a little creativity displaying the “Great

Wall of Gratitude”. In the first few weeks of display the response cards the service was

swamped with positive compliments about staff from consumers.

One compliment read:

“Staff name: Sarah

I am grateful for: Positive attitude and warm welcome every time I come to Talking Realities”

Metropolitan Youth Health consumer board

If your service does not have a Great Wall of Gratitude, ask the manager of the ward,

service or unit to display one.

Person and Family Centred Care Award January

Winner

Congratulations to Dr Peter Muller from Maternal Fetal

Medicine for being the January 2017 monthly winner.

January Person and Family Centred Care Award

Recipients

Lis Brittan – Volunteer Unit

Judy Coffey – Delivery Suite

Dr Peter Muller – Delivery Suite

Delivery Suite Team

Lisa Naeher – Stomal Therapy

Jo Pritchard – Medical Day Unit

Kate Williams – Endocrine and Diabetic Unit

Donna Taylor – Cassia Ward

Rachel Lindsey – Cassia Ward

Emma Spouse – Cassia Ward

Rose Thompson – Cassia Ward

Rado Gregoric – Cassia Ward

Cassia Ward Team

Antenatal Ward Team

Reconciliation Action Plan

On National Apology Day the WCHN launched its new Reconciliation Action Plan - The Past,

The Present and The Future ‒ An action plan for Reconciliation 2017– 2020: Continuing our

Journey… The Plan renews our commitment to Aboriginal engagement and health equity, and

the creation of a world in which everyone has the opportunity to grow, prosper and be healthy.

All consumers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with this document.

Staff Library

Available now in the library is a new series of 2016 articles

ordered by the Consumer and Community Engagement Unit

titled “Patient Engagement: Catalyzing Improvement and

Innovation in Healthcare”. This bitesize guide presents 10

case studies from the UK, USA and Australia regarding

patients as partners. These series of articles expand upon

introductory notes presented in the online e-learning module,

“Consumer and Community Engagement”. An afterword by

Senior Fellow from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Jim Conway titled “Improving care with those we are

privileged to service: not if but when and how” is a reminder

about the importance of “nothing about consumers, without

consumers”.

If consumer representatives are interested in viewing the

articles contact the Director, Consumer and Community Engagement.

Dr Peter Muller – January Award winner

CONSUMER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UPDATES

What is empathy in healthcare?

Empathy is one of the six principles of consumer and community engagement. However, the

concept of empathy in healthcare has been around for much longer than the strategy. In fact it

has been a fundamental element of the successful therapeutic relationships between

healthcare clinicians and consumers since the birth of medicine. High degrees of empathy

have been shown to improve clinical outcomes, compliance, emotional health and consumer

satisfaction.

Empathic involvement is crucial to healthcare treatment that is dignified and respectful. Our

consumers and caregivers tell us that empathy should be customised to meet their unique

needs. Empathic involvement is not a simple way of acting, but it can be an easy thing to

remember and get right when following these three steps:

1. Understand (know what the consumer or caregiver is communicating)

2. Check (repeat back to them what you have understood and ask if it is accurate)

3. Act (act on their instructions or requests)

REFERENCES

Blasi, Z. D., Harkness, E., Ernst, E., Georgiou, A. & Kleijnen, J. Influence of context effects on health outcomes: a

systematic review. The Lancet 357, 757–762 (2001).

Burns, D. D. & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. Therapeutic empathy and recovery from depression in cognitive-behavioral

therapy: A structural equation model. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 60, 441–449 (1992).

Kim, S. S., Kaplowitz, S. & Johnston, M. V. The Effects of Physician Empathy on Patient Satisfaction and Compliance.

Eval. Health Prof. 27, 237–251 (2004).

Menendez, M. E., Chen, N. C., Mudgal, C. S., Jupiter, J. B. & Ring, D. Physician Empathy as a Driver of Hand Surgery

Patient Satisfaction. J. Hand Surg. 40, 1860–1865.e2 (2015).

Top 10 points about Basecamp by Tara Bridge

1. Accessibility

Basecamp can be accessed at any time form any mobile device as well as PCs and laptops.

You can check in and comment on anything you have seen on Basecamp while sitting on the

bus, waiting for your kids to come out of school or even if you have five minutes to spare. There

is always a way to access Basecamp at any time. Both Android and Apple platforms have the

Basecamp app that can be downloaded and installed on your mobile device, which allows you

quick and easy access to make staying connected easy.

The other great thing about the way Basecamp is set up is everything is on one page, meaning

you can see everything that has been active recently on the start-up page after signing in so

you can pinpoint subjects of interest.

2. Connectivity

There are times when you may feel disconnected when you are away from the hospital and not

physically participating in activities. Basecamp allows you to connect with fellow consumers and

also have your say on subjects relating to the hospital. There is also a consumer representative

space where you can write anything that you wish to discuss and get feedback from fellow

representatives as well as staff and management. So even if you can’t physically

be at the hospital yourself, you are still able to participate and discuss ideas and

changes that are being implemented at the hospital.

3. Opportunities

Basecamp isn’t just for input and discussion. Every now and then opportunities for other

involvement come up in the Network through the Community Engagement Unit. These

opportunities may be in the form of board positions and consumer engagement programs.

When one of these opportunities crops up, it is placed on Basecamp under the Consumer

Representative space. When an opportunity arises you are encouraged to apply with you

expression of interest.

4. Individualised groups

Not everyone is part of everything at the hospital. If you are part of a committee on WHCN

Consumer Governance structure like the Youth Advisory Group, Person and Family Centred

Care Network Steering Group and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services; there is a

specific online group for you to join.

5. Security and guidance

Basecamp is monitored by a staff member at all times. This allows for free flow and safe

conversations between representatives. When a discussion is started a staff member will be

notified and this allows them to monitor the conversation that takes place. This also allows for

discussion to stay on topic and discourages off track conversations. It also enables relevant

advice to be provided to the original poster.

6. Organisation-wide participation

Consumer representatives aren’t the only people who use and comment on topics raised on

Basecamp. Staff including the executive management team also uses Basecamp. This allows

them to see what consumer representatives think and also allows for open discussion around

decision making and consumer-related promotional material. It’s not every day you can say that

a topic or concern you have raised is seen and read by the CEO and executive directors of the

Women’s and Children’s Health Network. This link allows for more fluid relationships and

communication between staff and consumer representatives.

7. The to-do list

Keeping track of everything can be hard. Basecamp has a calendar and to-do list all in the one

app. If there is anything that has been put up for consultation; you can set deadlines in the

calendar to ensure you provide your input on time.

8. Email users

Email reminders from Basecamp can be hugely beneficial. Basecamp will send you daily

updates and reminders of the content and discussions that have taken place on Basecamp over

the previous 24 hour period. This allows you to keep an eye on the content without accessing

the app or website itself. Should you not wish to receive these emails and reminders, you can

easily switch this function off in the applications settings

9. Customisation

Basecamp can be customised to your liking as well. Should you not wish to receive updates on

conversations you haven’t participated in you can switch off these reminders in the threads

settings. On the other hand, should you wish to make a post about a particular subject, for

particular people only, you can you can select who will receive the reminders or notifications via

the tick boxes at the bottom of the writing panel. This allows for direct communication with other

consumers who may not be in a group that you are a part of, or if you wish to alert a particular

staff member to a concern or a discussion.

10. Staying informed

Allan Ball, Director Consumer and Community Engagement is always updating consumers on

everything that is being discussed and done in the Network. This allows for everyone who is

involved with consumer engagement to stay informed and up to date with all the latest news

and information. There are always updates on the discussions and activities in the Network,

often accompanied by lovely photos of some of our amazing reps. Should there be an outside

program, anything from School Ambassador programs to staff training, that has taken place,

you will see and read all about it on Basecamp. This sort of communication allows us all to keep

up to date with all the work that our wonderful Network and Director are getting up to. It’s great.

Person and Family Centred Care Network Steering Group

Lily co-led her first breakout group as co-chair of the Person and Family Centred Care Network

Steering Group (PFCCNSG) which gathered on 7 February 2017.

The meeting focused on a brainstorm about ways to advance the communication to consumers

in the children's emergency department. Led by Divisional Nursing Director from Paediatric

Division and Director, Consumer and Community Engagement, two mixed groups of WCHN

staff and consumers came up with a list of principles and ideas with the aim to:

Increase the confidence of consumers and caregivers to ask questions about their care

options and discharge plans.

Increase the knowledge of the community about triage, waiting times and clinical decision-

making that occurs in a children's emergency department.

Over 25 principles and suggestions were put forth and during March they will be whittled down

to a handful to be translated into a quality improvement.

The PFCCNSG also received an update from the Best Practice Spotlight Initiative. The project

is now embarking on developing the capabilities and capacity of the WCH workforce in relation

to person and family centred care.

Adolescent Ward, Boylan Ward and Antenatal and Gynaecology Ward have been selected to

trial the “Family Huddle” model.

The PFCCNSG endorsed a business card-sized handout, which will be given to consumers and

caregivers to increase awareness of the Person and Family Centred Care Awards and

electronic letterbox. The handout has links to the website and a QR code to provide quicker

access to the online nomination form and survey.

Health Literacy Group

In 2017 the Health Literacy Group will produce two important pieces of work for the Network:

Procedure about the development of clinical and corporate documents underpinned by

Dr Anne Johnson's research into health literacy guidelines.

A consumer template to support consumer involvement in the review of health information,

that will also have a sticker to indicate which clinical and corporate information has been

co-designed with our consumers

The Health Literacy Group has a number of smaller projects that occur between the quarterly

meetings and members were provided an update which included:

The group is fostering a partnership with UniSA’s School of Art, Architecture and Design

regarding student participation in health literacy and more broadly Consumer Engagement

at WCHN.

Endorsed a statement to be included in the health literacy procedure regarding the process

to help information to be understood by those who dominant language is not English.

Endorsed that consumers would participate in the editing and development process of the

Women’s and Children’s Health Network signature magazine, “Healthy Focus”.

Reviewed the WCHN Children's Admission Form, to add to the feedback already gathered

by the WCHN Cultural Roundtable and Youth Advisory Group.

Daisy and Darlene, two of our consumer representatives, have had meetings with all Divisional

Directors to gather information for an innovative booklet to be called "24 Hours in the Women's

and Children's Health Network". Darlene reported that it has been a fantastic process to learn

about the complexity of the Health Network and to meet with all of the positive staff. Over the

next three months the information will be whittled down to 50 stories about the workings of the

WCHN which will feature in this booklet.

Youth Health Symposium Our Generation: Youth Health Matters

Encouraging our consumers to find their voice and play an integral role in their own health care

is one of the most empowering gestures a health service can make. By being willing to listen to

those voices and resolve to act on many of the suggestions for improvements that come from

this engagement means everyone can benefit from the exchange. We have many “voices”

within our community and one that it is vital to listen to for developing the health services of the

future is our youth voice.

Over the past 18 months we have made a concerted effort to enhance the involvement of our

young consumers in decision-making on youth issues within our Health Network, through the

formation of the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) under the auspices of our Consumer and

Community Engagement Unit.

On 15 February, YAG staged the first WCHN youth health symposium, which provided for an

excellent opportunity to capture the energy, enthusiasm and ideas of our youth demographic to

create positive change. In partnership with TeamKids, ActNow Theatre, Kidsafe SA and Bright

Spark Entertainment 115 Years 6 and 7 students gathered for this consumer-led forum.

Among the key issues discussed at the symposium were bullying, body image, health service

provision for teenagers and poor diet among young people. Rather than looking at these

through the clinical or academic lens, our young people will investigate these aspects of youth

health from a lived experience perspective.

The event provided for fertile ground for innovation leading to four tangible outcomes:

Feedback gathered will lead to the development of a video for Surgical Services division to

help reduce the anxiety children face when coming in to hospital for surgery.

Stories were collected about the bio-psycho-social impacts of bullying and will be used as

narratives for capacity development.

A new health Pledge for youth was crafted with more than 100 current consumers

contributing alongside the 115 young people at the conference.

Three schools will design helmet safety campaigns and present results to the Director,

Consumer and Community Engagement on 5 May 2017.

Robinson Research Institute consumer panel

On Thursday 9 February the

Robinson Research Institute in

partnership with Health Consumers

Alliance South Australia and the

Consumer and Community

Engagement convened a consumer

panel to shape thinking around

research priorities. Tara from the

Consumer and Community

Partnering Council and Josephine

from the Neonatal and Maternity

Community of Practice attended on

behalf of the Network.

“Tara and Josephine were fabulous. One of the researchers was working on polycystic ovary

syndrome (PCOS) a condition Tara was happy to share that she had lived with since she was a

child, so she had lots of feedback and contacts to share. All of the researchers got really useful

feedback about sources of funding, sources of consumers, the value and focus of their

research. I think the value of consumer engagement will be a topic of discussion around the

institute as a result” said Kathy McKinan, Manager Consumer and Community Engagement and

Health Consumers Alliance South Australia.

Migrant Health Services

Migrant Health Service (MHS) is a state funded specialist primary health care service for

refugees and asylum seekers settling in South Australia. MHS services are targeted towards

families and individuals with complex health and psycho-social needs which are considered

difficult to manage in a mainstream primary care setting. Services and programs adopt a client

centred approach and acknowledge both the social determinants of health and broader access

and equity issues that create barriers for refugee and asylum seeker clients within the

mainstream health system.

Clients from a refugee or asylum seeking background frequently experience complex pre and

post migration health and psycho social issues. Many individuals face barriers in accessing

mainstream primary care services due to language and cultural issues, a limited understanding

of how the health system works and systemic barriers such as culturally inappropriate services

and lack of interpreter use.

Clients who access care at MHS typically experience health issues such as significant rates of

infectious disease, parasitic infections and nutritional deficiencies. They are frequently under-

immunised and have had little or no dental screening or care. A considerable proportion of

presenting clients may have experienced torture or other forms of trauma and frequently

present with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and symptoms of complex

grief.

The MHS multi-disciplinary team includes nurses, doctors, social workers, multi-lingual primary

health care workers and visiting specialists in paediatrics, psychiatry and optometry.

Services include GP and nursing clinics for comprehensive health assessment and new arrival

screening, immunisation and child health assessment clinics, women’s health clinics, and

therapeutic counselling and psycho social support. All clients have access to

health literacy education and assisted transition to mainstream primary

health providers within 12 to 24 months after arrival.

Eligibility to access MHS services is based on issues such as complexity of presenting health

issues, pre-migration circumstances, length of stay in Australia and compounding health and

pyscho-social issues, which make it difficult for clients to access mainstream services.

Appointments can be arranged by direct referral from the Humanitarian Settlement Services

provider, or by contacting the MHS daily drop-in clinic nurse on 8237 3900.

Our Partner Spotlights

PANDA provides a vital service across Australia by offering the only specialist national

perinatal mental health telephone counselling service, as well as reducing stigma around

perinatal anxiety and depression, and providing education services to health professionals and

the wider community.

www.panda.org.au

Novita’s Child and Adolescent Service supports children living with disabilities aged

between eight and 18 years, helping them to move, play, learn and develop their potential every

day. Children who attend Team Approach schools are provided with services by the Child and

Adolescent Service from the time they start school.

The Child and Adolescent Service provides physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech

pathology services specifically for older children. The team works closely with families and

carers to provide support, advice, therapy and solutions to challenges that may arise as

children move into adulthood. Where necessary, the Child and Adolescent Service links with

Novita’s Assistive Technology Service to ensure each child receives the most appropriate

equipment for their needs.

www.novita.org.au

Consumer Rewind – A spotlight over the past 28 days

Sammy one of our newest consumer representatives attended the Volunteer Strategy

Project Advisory Group. This group will meet for the next six months to co-design with

the community the Network’s approach towards volunteering. Staff and consumers will be

asked to shape the principles and actions of the strategy in May 2017.

It has been a busy month of active consumer recruitment. New committees have been

formed including;

Breastfeeding Policy Working Group. Heidi will be the consumer representative.

Child and Family Health Service Safety and Quality Committee.

Outpatient Reform Committee. Rohana and Sharon will be the consumer

representatives.

Paediatric Surgery Governance and Model Committee. Tara and Lisa will be the

consumer representatives.

Tara attended the first quarterly meeting of SA Health’s Partnering with Consumers

group. At this meeting the SA Health Carer’s strategy was discussed and the WCHN Health

Citizen Jury was discussed as an example of best practice.

10 consumer representatives expressed an interest in the funded position for the

Professional Certificate in Consumer and Community Engagement with the

International Centre for Allied Health Evidence. After eight telephone interviews, Lily has

been offered the WCHN place for this 12-month training opportunity.

The Consumer and Community Engagement Unit began the “2017 Staff

Roving Show” where the leaders inform divisions how they can partner

with volunteers, consumers, Friends of WCH Inc., Pharmacy, Paediatric

Medicine, Surgical Services and Women’s and Babies divisions.

Consumer and volunteer orientation was held on 6 February which concluded with a

“meet and greet” with the CEO at lunchtime.

6 February the Health Literacy Group met.

Tanya, Jo, Tara and Tessa were involved on four different selection panels for director

and executive staff at the Network.

Lily co-chaired the first Person and Family Centred Care Network Steering Group

for 2017 and also co-led a consultation with consumers and staff on ways to strengthen

communication between clinicians and consumers.

Lily provided feedback on the draft report for the research review and attended the

Gateway Review Project Advisory Committee on 10 February.

Cultural Roundtable was held on 8 February.

Tara and Sharon reconvened the Roving Coffee Club and Coffee Club in the Café. A

change for 2017 is the introduction of the QR code slips; allowing the community to

complete an online survey to give feedback on their experience.

In Real Life Journal Club was held on 12 February where the group discussed the Plane

Tree Person and Family Centred Care Framework. Members believed that there is benefit in

the Network adapting a consumer engagement maturity matrix to measure and monitor the

impact of public involvement in co-design.

Consumer and Community Partnering Council gathered on 20 February with

members endorsing the WCHN Consumer Governance Structure Matrix and WCHN

Consumer Engagement Evaluation Framework. Members also provided insights into how to

maximise the promotion of the Person and Family Centred Care Awards and reviewed

consumer feedback on experience data.

Women’s and Babies Division hosted a five-day Listening Post in which Sharon and

Tiffany interviewed current consumers

Melissa and Allan attended the launch of the WCHN Reconciliation Action Plan.

Allan has been asked to consult on the following in partnership with staff from the

Network;

Children’s Outpatients to design ways of harnessing the child’s voice in co-design

which has resulted in the development of Con the Consultation Crocodile.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, designing a community engagement

campaign for the proposed CAMHS organisational restructure.

Clinical Practice Unit, reviewing the day workshop for staff to be trained in Person and

Family Centred Care.

Re-designed the process for consumers and staff to review consumer feedback on

experience by introducing a digital letterbox utilising Survey Monkey software.

Continue the development of a discussion paper on the future strategic directions for

Aboriginal Health in the Network.

Consumer Involvement in Surgical Services parent retreat.

For more information

Consumer and Community Engagement Unit

Women’s and Children’s Health Network

72 King William Road

North Adelaide SA 5006

Telephone: 8161 6935

Email: Allan.Ball@sa.gov.au

www.wch.sa.gov.au

© Department for Health and Ageing, Government of South Australia. All rights reserved.

All information was accurate at the time of printing, dates and times may vary.