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Health Care Consumers’

Association of the ACT Inc

Annual Report 2014 –2015

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This report reviews the activities and achievements of Health Care

Consumers’ Association of the ACT (HCCA) during the period 1 July 2014

to 30 June 2015.

The report is also available on our website at http://hcca.org.au/

index.php/about-hcca/annual-report.html. If you would like a hard copy of

this report please contact the office at adminofficer@hcca.org.au.

Health Care Consumers’ Association

100 Maitland Street, Hackett ACT 2602

ABN 59 698 548 902

Telephone (02) 6230 7800

Fax:(02) 6230 7833

Email: adminofficer@hcca.org.au

Web: www.hcca.org.au

Annual Report 2014-2015

Blog: hcca-act.blogspot.com

Twitter: @HealthCanberra

www.facebook.com/

Cover Photos

1. Health Issues Group about RiskMan and

Incident Management at the Canberra Hospital

and Calvary Hospital, March 2015.

2. Joanne Baumgartner and Trish Lord at the ACT

Health Thank You Celebration for Consumer

Representatives.

3. Christine Bowman with participants of an

Advanced Care Planning Session.

4. Sandra Avila, Darlene Cox, Eleanor Kerdo,

Caitlin Stamford and Nicholas Wales promoting

Health for All.

5. Consumer Representatives Program Steering

Committee (L–R) Patricia Branford, Alan Thomas, Bill

Heins, Caitlin Stamford, Nicholas Wales, Marion

Reilly and Adele Stevens.

6. Victoria Toulkidis and Russell McGowan at the

ACT Health Thank You Celebrationf or

Consumer Representatives.

1 2

3 4

5 6

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Our Purpose Page 4

Strategic Plan Page 5 Highlights Page 6 Executive Committee Page 10 President’s Report Page 14 Executive Director’s Report Page 17

Treasurer’s Report Page 19 Financial Resources Page 20 Organisational Members Page 21 Communication and Promotion Page 22 Health Policy Page 24 Health Infrastructure Program Page 26 Health Literacy Program Page 29 Advance Care Planning Project Page 31 Getting Out and About Page 32 HCCA Committees Page 33 Consumer Representatives Program Page 34 Consumer Representatives Page 35 Consumer Representatives Training Page 36 Sponsored Conference Attendance Page 37 List of Consumer and Organisational Representative Positions Page 38 HCCA Staff Page 48 Staff Changes Page 50 Financial Report and Statements Page 51

Contents

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Our Purpose

Health Care Consumers’ Association (HCCA) is a

health promotion organisation. Our mission is to

deliver better health outcomes through consumer

empowerment so consumers can be in control of

their own health.

HCCA is the peak health consumer advocacy

organisation in the ACT and we have supported

and developed health consumer perspectives and

policy since we were incorporated in 1978.

We strive to improve the quality and accountability

of health services, by providing health care

consumers with the opportunity to participate in

health policy, planning and service delivery

decisions. We encourage consumers to identify

priorities and issues of concern relating to health

and we formally convey these collective views to the ACT Government, Medicare

Locals, Federal Government and other bodies.

We work closely with consumers through:

Consumer representation

Consultative fora

Information sessions

Regular communications with our members and networks

Advocating consumer perspectives in health policy

Researching consumer experiences of health care

Health Care Consumers’ Association of the ACT

Adele Stevens, Sue Andrews and Yelin Hung

at the Seniors Expo in April 2015.

Health Care Consumers Association hosting a meeting of state and national consumer peak bodies, August 2015.

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Our Vision Consumers in control of our own health

Mission Better health outcomes through

consumer empowerment

Values We value:

Our members’ knowledge, experience and involvement Integrity Collaboration Equity Participation and support Mutual respect Inclusiveness

GOAL 1: Effective consumer participation in health policy development and service

design, planning and delivery.

GOAL 2: HCCA continues to be a strong and credible voice for consumers on health

care.

GOAL 3: High levels of health literacy in the Canberra community.

GOAL 4: Our members, staff and stakeholders regard HCCA as a strong and responsive organisation.

HCCA Strategic Plan 2014- 2015

HCCA Executive Committee: (L-R) Bev McConnell, Marcus Bogie, Fran Parker, Adele Stevens,

John Didlick, Bill Heins, Sue Andrews and Michelle Banfield. Hugh Crawford is absent from the pho-

Nick Wales and Terry Swarner at the Canberra Hospital

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Governance

Seven Executive Committee

meetings were held between July

2014 and June 2015.

The Consumer Representatives

Program Steering Committee met

ten times between July 2014 to

June 2015.

We held a Special General Meeting in May 2015 to review a number of clauses in the HCCA Constitution.

The Executive Committee and staff participated in a planning session on HCCA priorities for 2015 in December 2014.

The Executive Committee continued to review HCCA organisational policies to

ensure they remain up-to-date and relevant for the organisation.

Representation and Partnership

In the 2014-2015 the Consumer Representatives Program supported 52

consumer representatives and nine organisational representatives.

Of these, 18 consumer representatives and eight organisational representatives

were on Health Infrastructure Program committees. We made 90 endorsements of

consumer and organisational representatives to committees, of which 49 were

consumer appointments and 41 were staff members. There were 73

endorsements made to new committees and the remainder were made to replace

consumer representatives who resigned from their committees. In total, HCCA

supported consumer and organisational representatives on 227 committees

across ACT Health, Calvary, ACT community organisations and national bodies.

The ACT e-Health Consumer Reference Group met seven times.

The Aged Care Consumer Reference Group met six times.

HCCA met with the ACT Health Executive three times to discuss issues of interest

to consumers.

Consumer Representative forums were held in July, September and November

2014, and in February and May 2015.

Highlights of 2014- 2015

HCCA members at the Special General Meeting in May 2015.

HCCA Aged Care Consumer Reference Group

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Health Policy Submissions

National

We made nine submissions on national health issues: Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) Consideration of Hepatitis

treatments Sofosbuvir and Simeprevir - July 2014 Australian Government After-Hours Primary Health Care Review - July 2014

Senate Inquiry into Dying with Dignity Bill - August 2014 Senate Select Committee on Health - September 2014 National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for Health Practitioners -

October 2014 Feedback on Quality Standards for Australian Emergency Departments -

November 2014 Feedback on Royal Australasian College of Physicians Selection into Training -

April 2015 Medical Internship Review - April 2015 Electronic Health Records and Healthcare Identifiers: Legislation Discussion

Paper 2015 - May 2015

Local

We provided forty responses to ACT Health: Submission to ACT Health on the University of Canberra Public Hospital Service

Delivery Plan - July 2014 Review of Patient Identification and Procedure Matching Policy and Standard

Operating Procedures - August 2014 Section 2 of the Rehabilitation, Aged & Community Care and University of

Canberra Public Hospital Models of Care Report - Profile of Current

Rehabilitation, Aged & Community Care Activities - August 2014 Draft ACT and Southern NSW Local Health District Cancer Services Plan 2014-

2018 - September 2014 ACT Health Canberra Hospital Overcapacity Protocol - September 2014 Patient Consent Form for ACT Health Mobile Dental Clinic - September 2014

Consumer Leads Evaluation Tool - October 2014 Having a Baby in the ACT Letter—October 2014 ACT Health Living Life with a Chronic Condition Brochure - December 2014

Language Services (Interpreters, Multilingual Staff and Translated Materials)

Policy and Standard Operating Procedures - December 2014 ACT Health Emergency Department Survey - December 2014 ACT Health Living Life with a Chronic Condition Brochure -December 2014

ACT Health Occupational Risk Exposure Policy and Pack - January 2015 ACT Health Staff Screening and Immunisation Policy - January 2015 Feedback on new ACT Health website - January 2015

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Education and Training Aseptic Technique Standard 3 - January 2015 Evaluation Plan for Aseptic Technique Standard 3 - January 2015

Response to The ACT Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework 2015 - January

2015 ACT Lymphoedema Services Background Paper and Implementation Plan -

January 2015 Using Health Services in the ACT - January 2015 Referral Information for ACT Womens Health Service -January 2015

Consumer and Carer Participation in ACT Health Policy - January 2015 Capital Culture A Discussion Paper - Community Services - January 2015

Cancer Psychosocial Services Postcard from Consumer Representative in

Cancer Services - January 2015 ACT Health website - February 2015 ACT Health Clinical Governance Framework - February 2015 ACT Discussion Paper for the Development of ACT’s Response to the National

HIV, Sexually Transmissible Infection and Blood Borne Virus Strategies 2015-2017 - March 2015

Chief Allied Health Officers Workforce Projects - April 2015

Ambulatory Care Operations Manual Part One - April 2015 New client registration form for ACT Women’s Health Service- April 2015

ACT Concessions Review - April 2015 Patient information from the Gastroenterology Unit - April 2015 ACT Health Maternity Hand Held Record - April 2015

Reference Design Plan for the University of Canberra Public Hospital - April 2015 Emergency Department Drop-Off/Pick-Up Traffic Survey Summary - May 2015 Elective Surgery Waitlist Guidelines and Patient Information -May 2015

ACT Health Online Learning - Working with Consumers - May 2015 Community Development Officer Duty Statement - May 2015 Safe 2 Sleep Study- Patient information - June 2015

Review on the Human Rights Commission Discussion Paper- June 2015 Consumer Experience of ACT Health Smoke Free Campus Policy -July 2015

Blue Sky Thinking Workshop on Consumer and Carer Participation at ACT Health - August 2014

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Consultations University of Canberra Public

Hospital (UCPH) Service

Delivery Plan Consultation - July

2014 Digital Canberra Inpatient App

Focus Groups - July 2014 Enhancing Consumer

Engagement by Health Services

through the Digital Arena Focus

Group - July 2015 Clinical Learning and

Governance Project Nurse Practitioner Study Focus Group - September 2014 ACT Cancer Services Plan Consultation - September 2014

The Canberra Hospital Over-Capacity Protocol Consultation - October 2014 Planning of the University of Canberra Public Hospital. Peak Community Bodies

Consultation - November 2014 Allied Health Workforce Focus Group - April 2015

University of Canberra Public Hospital Master Plan Consultation - April 2015

Health Issues Groups Better Patient and Resource Management in Chronic Disease - June 2014 Advance Care Planning - August 2014

ACT Health Community Health Intake Service - August 2014 COTA Community Transport Options - November 2014 Dementia Care and Healthy Environments - November 2014

RiskMan and Incident Management at ACT the Canberra Hospital and Calvary

Hospital - March 2015

Health Issues Group - RiskMan and Incident Management at Canberra Hospital and Calvary Hospital - March 2015

Adam Stankevicius, Fiona Tito Wheatland and Russell

McGowan speaking at the 2014 AGM.

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Dr Sue Andrews President

Executive Committee 2014 - 2015

Sue joined the HCCA Executive Committee in April 2012 and

was elected President at the AGM in 2012. Sue has worked in different roles in the health field over many

years and is committed to consumer centred health care. She

began her working life as a Medical Technologist at the Royal

Alexandra Hospital for Children in Sydney, then in Papua New

Guinea and later in Canberra. After completing an honours degree in Science at the ANU in

the 1980s, Sue joined ACT Health initially as a researcher for

the Cervical Screening Pilot Program, then later in the 1990s as Women’s Health Advi-

sor and also in other health and social policy areas. She has experience in the non-government sector, having worked for Family Planning Australia and ACT Shelter and

has served on the boards of Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, the Domestic

Violence Crisis Service and the Women’s Centre for Health Matters, of which she is a

Life Member. Sue has a PhD in Women’s Studies from the ANU and maintains a

strong interest in issues of gender and health. Sue chairs the HCCA Health Policy

Steering Committee.

Dr Michelle Banfield Vice - President

Michelle has been a member of HCCA since 2011 and joined

the Executive Committee in November 2012. She was elected

Vice President at the AGM in 2014. Michelle is a consumer

researcher in mental health and primary health care at the

Australian National University. Originally a biological

anthropologist exploring the behaviour and social systems of

primates, Michelle moved into mental health research after

serious mental illness derailed her grand plans and gave her a

new focus. She has a PhD in epidemiology and population health, using participatory

research methods to explore mental health consumers’ priorities for research on

depression and bipolar disorder in Australia. Her current work is focused on increasing

the involvement of health consumers and carers in the research process and

conducting research relevant to their needs. As part of her commitment to breaking down the barriers between consumers and

researchers, Michelle enjoys sharing her work and her experiences with the

community and has spoken at numerous events for AFFIRM: The Australian

Foundation for Mental Health Research and for Australian Rotary Health. In 2012

Michelle was appointed to the Consumer Reference Group for the National Mental

Health Consumer Organisation Establishment Project, setting up a new peak body for

mental health consumers around Australia. Michelle is a member of the HCCA Health

Policy Steering Committee.

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Bio for Vice-President Hugh Crawford Treasurer

Hugh joined the Executive Committee at the AGM in 2014.

Hugh was an insurance broker and advisor for 35 years

immediately prior to retiring in 2013. He has also owned and

operated several other successful businesses since settling in

Canberra in 1969. Hugh's interest is in the area of public health

and financial impact on the community. Hugh was previously the

National Treasurer of the Association of Financial Advisers for

five years and then Chairman of the Association’s Investment Fund for seven years.

Hugh recently successfully completed the directors course at the Australian Institute of

Company Directors.

Dr Adele Stevens Member

Adele joined the Executive Committee in 2006 and was President of HCCA from 2008 to 2012 and Vice President from 2012 to 2014. Adele became committed to consumer participation and empowerment as a way of improving the safety and quality of health care following her experiences working for the Commonwealth Government on quality use of medicines and with the Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care. Her main work for HCCA now relates to chairing the Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee and the Aged Care Consumer Reference Group.

Adele began her career in the health field, principally as midwife and community nurse

over a period of about 20 years. She started university studies as a mature aged

student in the 1970s and completed her PhD in the fields of women’s health and

epidemiology and population health – both areas of interest that she still maintains.

She spent the latter part of her career in the Commonwealth Department of Health

where she developed some expertise on medicines policy and initiatives to improve the

safety and quality of the health system and services.

Since the late 1970s, she has been active in a range of community organisations and

at times has taken a leading role on committees, particularly in the alcohol and other

drugs area. In the 1990s, she was, at different times, both President and Secretary of

the Alcohol and Drug Foundation of the ACT. She is currently a member of Family and

Friends for Drug Law Reform and Dying with Dignity.

Adele represents HCCA on the following committees: Respecting Patient Choices

Program Reference Group, ACT Palliative Care Clinical Network, Standard 9

committee - Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration in Acute Health

Care and lastly, the Goal Setting and End of Life Committee which is a sub-committee

of Standard 9. She is also a consumer representative in the Health Infrastructure

Program with a particular interest in the development of the University of Canberra

Public Hospital. Adele is passionate about improving safety and quality in health care,

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Bev McConnell was the Treasurer on the HCCA Executive Committee from 2008 to 2014 and is a current member of HCCA Aged Care Consumer Reference Group. Bev has an Economics degree and worked in the Australian Public Service for around 20 years in policy, grant administration and governance, mainly in the portfolio area of broadband, telecommunications and broadcasting. Her present main area of interest is the care of older health consumers in the community, hospital and residential facility settings, especially those consumers with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Bill joined HCCA in 2011 and he was elected to the Executive Committee at the AGM in November 2013. Since completing training as a consumer representative he has served on several committees including user groups for the development of University of Canberra Public Hospital Support Services. Bill spent 28 years in the Royal Australian Air Force starting as an apprentice on aircraft maintenance then working in technical administration and management. He spent the next 20 years self-employed in the ACT region followed by 10 years in semi-retirement with an active interest in ACT local government issues. Bill’s valuable contribution to the Executive Committee stems from his ethics and broad based work experience. Bill is a member of the Consumer Representatives Steering Committee.

Bill Heins Member

Fran joined HCCA in 2012 and was elected to the Executive Committee in 2013. Fran was originally a teacher of economics and has worked in the public, private and NGO sectors in a range of areas including health, education, insurance and politics (in the US). She worked for Family Planning ACT and ACT Health where she was active in the early women’s health movement, worked on the National Women’s Health Policy and program consultations, and was active in working with consumers on maternity services in the ACT especially the development of the birth centre and public antenatal services. In the Commonwealth Fran was the national director of the Breast Cancer Screening program during its first five years, and then worked on public health policy and with the Divisions of General Practice. Her last 10 years before retiring from the public service in 2008

Fran Parker Member

particularly end of life care. In 2015, she became an Ambassador for Palliative care

with the national Push for Palliative group. Adele chairs the HCCA Aged Care

Consumer Reference Group and the Consumer Representatives Program Steering

Committee

Bev McConnell Member

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were spent in corporate areas primarily in finance, stakeholder engagement and reporting. Since joining HCCA Fran has been a consumer representative on the ACT Palliative Care Committee and ACT Health Executive Directors’ Council.

John Didlick Member

John Didlick joined the Executive Committee at the AGM in

2014. John is the Executive Officer at Hepatitis ACT – an

organisational member of HCCA responsible for delivering

services for and advocating on behalf of some of our

community’s most stigmatised and marginalised people. John

has tertiary qualifications in Community Development and

Community Education and has experience in health policy in

Alcohol and Other Drug Policy, and Aboriginal & Torres Strait

Islander Health Policy with the ACT and Australian Governments. John’s commitment

to evidence based practice, consumer participation, community representation and

health equity underpins his work with Hepatitis ACT. John has an ongoing commitment

to groups including the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council for Sexual Health, HIV/AIDS,

Hepatitis and Related Diseases, the ACT Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Strategy

Evaluation Group, the Australian Medical Council Health Policies and Services

Advisory Group, and Capital Health Network (formerly known ACT Medicare Local)

Consumer Engagement and Empowerment Advisory Panel.

Marcus Bogie joined the Executive Committee at the AGM in

2014. Marcus is the Senior Client Services Coordinator at the

AIDS Action Council of the ACT. Marcus has worked for the

Council for the past 14 years in various roles and has a

thorough understanding of the needs of people accessing

health services. Having lived with HIV for over 20 years,

Marcus has first-hand experience in navigating the health

system and is conscious of the needs of people receiving

timely and accurate information. He is the coordinator of the Blood Borne Virus

Counsellors Network and represents the Aids Action Council on various committees in

advancing its cause. Marcus is passionate about equal access and believes stigma and

discrimination around any issue is intolerable. He strongly believes in assisting people

to be empowered to advocate for themselves and if not, having someone skilled to

advocate on their behalf.

Marcus Bogie Member

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Health Care Consumers’ Association is the peak health

consumer advocacy body in the ACT. We are a strong

voice for consumer rights and continuous improvement in

the health system to meet the needs of the diverse

community in which we live and work. This has been

another busy year of consolidation of our work,

organisationally as well as with our members and external

stakeholders. There is a new Director General of ACT

Health, Nicole Feely, and we welcome her commitment to

working with health care consumers. Following the

departure at the end of 2014 of the ACT Chief Minister and

Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher, to represent the ACT in

the Senate, we have had a new Minister for Health, Simon

Corbell MLA, a strong advocate and supporter of consumer

centred health care.

Our active membership and robust Consumer Representatives Program is a significant

strength of our organisation, ably supported by Caitlin Stamford and Kate Gorman and

the Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee. We are involved in an

impressive range of representational activity which can be seen in the pages of this

year’s Annual Report. We draw on the knowledge and experience of our members and

representatives to inform our activity and advocacy around emerging health issues. Our

ongoing program of Health Issues Forums, Consumer Representatives Forums, Health

Infrastructure Program Representatives Network meetings and Consumer Reference

Groups are a testament to the high level of engagement of our members and

stakeholders.

This year HCCA made a significant contribution to the process in the lead up to, and

the successful accreditation of ACT Health. The Australian Council on Health

Standards Survey team’s draft report noted that:

“The presence and strength of consumer input impressed the survey team, who

saw evidence of initiatives which were a direct result of this consumer

focus” (National Standards Accreditation Newsletter 7 July 2015).

HCCA continues to provide extensive consumer engagement with the Health

Infrastructure Program (HIP) through the dedicated work of the HIP project team Kerry

Snell and Nick Wales, especially with the development of the University of Canberra

Public Hospital and the major redevelopment and refurbishment projects at The

Canberra Hospital, including the Emergency Department Expansion. In the last six

months alone there have been consumer representatives on twelve HIP committees

and User Groups.

HCCA Multicultural Liaison Officer, Yelin Hung, undertakes the important work of

consulting with marginalised and vulnerable communities to identify consumer needs.

Christine Bowman has started working with Yelin to build community awareness and

President’s Report

Sue Andrews, President

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understanding of Advance Care

Planning.

There has been ongoing consolidation

of our high quality policy work

undertaken by Eleanor Kerdo, providing

consumer input into ACT and

Commonwealth Government initiatives.

A Health Issues Policy Development

and Evaluation Framework has been

drawn up to ensure relevant, consumer-focused policy responses and

submissions are produced which will ultimately contribute to better health outcomes for

consumers.

Under the leadership and advocacy of our Executive Director, Darlene Cox, we are

actively involved with a number of projects with our external stakeholders such as the

ACT Government Better Services Taskforce and ACT Council of Social Services. We

participated in the Consumers’ Health Forum Members and Stakeholders Forum and

also hosted a meeting of the State peak consumer health organisations. HCCA is also

a partner in the Blueprint for the Capital Health Network, along with the ACT

Government, the Royal Australian College of General Practice, ACTCOSS and the

Australian Medical Association (ACT).

The Executive Committee (EC) has worked extremely hard this year in oversighting

the implementation of our Strategic Plan (2014-2017), to ensure that the work of the

organisation remains focused on the agreed health priority areas, as well as

supporting the staff to take on emerging issues as they might arise. This year the EC

reviewed the HCCA Constitution to assess how well it reflected the governance of the

organisation. As a result some technical changes were recommended for members to

consider and were approved at a Special General Meeting held in May this year.

Sandra Avila has provided exemplary administrative and secretariat support to the EC

again this year, ensuring that we work as efficiently and effectively as possible to

support the organisation.

The EC also held two special meetings to discuss the role of HCCA as a peak

organisation. We considered options for the long term sustainability of the organisation

with a view to clarifying and reaffirming the values and the strategies which would be

the basis on which we ensure that HCCA remains a strong and effective community

based consumer advocacy organisation. The EC is committed to ensuring the

organisation’s financial sustainability into the future. To this end we will be seeking

endorsement from the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission as a Health

Promotion Charity. If this is successful we can apply to the Australian Tax Office for

Deductible Gift Recipient status which means HCCA will then be able to raise money

through donations. This process will require some amendments to our Constitution

which will be recommended to members at this year’s Annual General Meeting.

I am pleased to report that HCCA continues to operate from a sound financial basis.

Current Members Equity is $203,970 as we enter into our final year of the current

Sue Andrews and Fiona Tito Wheatland at the ACT Health

Thank You celebration for Consumer Representatives - March

2015

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three year Service Funding

Agreement. Over the next six

months we will be working with

ACT Health to negotiate our next

funding agreement for 2016-2019.

I would like to thank the members

of the EC who are not continuing

in their roles, special thanks to

Bev McConnell as previous

Treasurer and Adele Stevens, our

past President and Vice President.

Fran Parker and Hugh Crawford

are also moving on and I would like to I thank them for their hard work and

commitment to HCCA and the EC.

I thank our dedicated Executive Director, Darlene Cox, and the staff team who work so

professionally in all they do. It will be an interesting year ahead with ACT and Federal

elections due in 2016. We will be keeping a watching brief on the national health

reform agenda in areas including primary health care, mental health, Medicare

payments, private health insurance and pharmacy arrangements. We will continue to

advocate for consumer rights, equity and access to the health system, one that is safe

and provides quality health care for all.

Dr Sue Andrews President

Sue Andrews, Bev McConnell and Adele Stevens at the HCCA

Special General Meeting in May 2015

Veronica Croome, Chief Nurse of the ACT and Sue Andrews at

a Health Issues Group on Team Based Nursing .

Sue Andrews chairing the Consumer Representative Forum in

February 2015.

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Executive Director’s Report

Change is the only constant. We hear the cliché but more

and more it is being demonstrated. This year has seen

tremendous change in the health system.

The national health reform agenda was reignited with the Federal government plans to introduce a copayment for consumers accessing general practitioners, medical imaging and pathology. This was met with a strong outcry from the community, including the medical profession. In January there was a new Minister for Health as well as a new Secretary of the Commonwealth Health Department. There is a new round of reform being led by the Federal Government and this is driven by the desire to control costs in the health system. We need to remember that it should not only be about reducing costs in the short term but how we can improve the health of our communities in the long term. The focus of the reform has to be on spending health dollars on what works the best.

In the ACT we also had a change in key leaders, with a new Health Minister and a new Director General of the ACT Health Directorate. There was also change at the Medicare Local, not only a name change but also a change in the Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair. I have been in my position for many years and Katy Gallagher, Dr Peggy Brown, Leanne Wells, and Dr Rashmi Sharma were all fixtures. I enjoyed working with them all and we had productive relationships. They will be missed.

The Medical Local became a Primary Health Network on 1 July 2015. Community based solutions can only be developed in partnership. The Capital Health Network understands this and we look forward to continuing to work with them to meet the challenges the primary health care system faces to better meet the needs of our community.

The Health Infrastructure Program was active with the University of Canberra Public Hospital taking shape. The planning for the new clinical services building at Canberra Hospital has been put on hold pending further consideration by Government.

Thank you to the staff team. We do great things together

and I am proud to work with you all. I also appreciate your

applause at karaoke. I thank you for going the extra step to

make sure that our members feel connected and valued and

that you support our consumer representatives.

Darlene Cox

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Darlene Cox, Rosemary O'Donnell and Sue Andrews at the launch of Healthpathways in May 2015

HCCA staff with Melissa Fox and Georgina Lawson from Health Consumers Queensland in June 2015

Sue Andres, Eleanor Kerdo, Joy Pettingell, Fiona Tito

Wheatland, Michelle Banfield and Darlene Cox

Thanks to the Executive Committee and

especially to Sue Andrews and Michelle

Banfield for their health policy acumen.

In closing I want to particularly thank

Adele Stevens and Bev McConnell who

have been actively involved in the

governance of HCCA for many years.

Adele joined the Executive Committee in

2006 and was President from 2008 to

2012 and more recently Vice President

(2013-2014). Adele has also chaired the

Consumer Representatives Program

Steering Committee since 2012. Bev

McConnell has been Treasurer since

2008. In that time our income and

level of activity has increased

significantly. Thank you also to Hugh

Crawford for his work as Treasurer. All

three people are stepping down from

these positions at the AGM and I want to

thank them very much for their

contribution. I have personally

appreciated their support and

engagement.

I am looking forward to building on our

achievements in the years ahead.

Darlene Cox

Executive Director

Nick Wales and Darlene Cox at the ACT Budget Lock up

in June 2015

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Treasurer’s Report

HCCA ended the 2014-15 financial year with a

budgeted cash surplus of $22,448 after the auditor’s

adjustments for depreciation, annual leave, accrued

expense and prepayments. The effect of this budget

surplus is to increase total member equity. The audited financial statements show accumulated

reserves at the end of the financial year at $203,970,

up from $168,308 last year. The Association is in a very strong financial position

and in the unlikely event of being wound up has

sufficient reserves to satisfy all debts and obligations. Apart from office equipment all the Association's

assets are cash held in term deposits. Total income for the 2014-15 year was $690,412 up

from $654,491 in 2013-14. The Service Funding Agreement with the ACT Health Directorate remains HCCA's

main source of income comprising around 86% of total income. The HCCA activity funding this year was made up of : Core funding from ACT Health $596,115 Health Promotion Grant (rolled over - 2013-14) $15,504 Advanced Care Planning Project $50,000 Projects undertaken with universities $12,500 HCCA Project Income $3,520 The total wage and related on costs across all programmes during the year was

$569,287, up from $486,832 in 2013-14. Wages and related costs remain the Association's main expense in providing support

to the Executive Director, the Executive Committee and the Consumer Representatives

programme. I wish to thank our contract book keeper Meg Rigby, Office Manager Sandra Avila and

Bev McConnell for their support in my role as Treasurer during the year. Hugh Crawford Treasurer

Hugh Crawford

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Financial Resources HCCA is mainly funded by the ACT Health Directorate. A detailed audited report for

2014-2015 has been included in this report outlining the funding received and how it

was invested across our different programs to advocate for better health services for

our communities. The following graphs summarise the sources of income in 2014-2015

and the areas in which this income was invested.

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HCCA strongly values the support of our colleagues in the following organisations:

A Gender Agenda

AIDS Action Council of ACT

Asthma Foundation ACT

Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Association of the ACT (ATODA)

Australian Pain Management Association Inc (Pain Support ACT)

Bosom Buddies ACT

Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy (CAHMA)

Canberra Ash Incorporated

Canberra Lung Life Support Group

Canberra Region Kidney Support Group

Cbr/Qbn ADD Support Group Inc (ADDACT)

Dying with Dignity ACT Inc

Hepatitis ACT

Mental Health Consumer Network

National Health Co-op

Pain Support ACT

Palliative Care ACT

People With Disabilities ACT Inc

RSI and Overuse Injury Association of the ACT

Women with Disabilities ACT (WDACT)

Women's Centre for Health Matters (WCHM)

Organisational Members

HCCA staff meeting with Mental Health Consumer Network

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HCCA continues to engage with our members and the

broader community through social media, our newsletter, blog

and various other media formats.

Our Executive Director, Darlene Cox, has been working hard

together with our Policy Officer, Eleanor Kerdo, and one of

our Administration Assistants, Khalia Lee, to keep you up to

date with the latest on health issues, services and promotions

through social media. In June 2015, Eleanor and Khalia have

started to develop external and internal social media policies and plans to ensure that

the content we post is relevant and consistent with HCCA values. Social media has

become an important aspect of how HCCA connects and engages with the community.

A Social Media workshop is currently being planned for members who are unfamiliar

with how social media works and are keen to know more.

Newsletter: HCCA has published 23 editions of our newsletter, Consumer Bites in this period.

Consumer Bites continues to keep our membership up to date with the work that

HCCA has been doing and raise awareness of local issues and events that relate to

health.

Facebook: The 2014-15 financial year has seen our Facebook page increase in ‘likes’. We

currently have 391 likes, 96 more likes than the last financial year. 62,947 people have

seen our posts with 53,483 seen organically (no money used to boost the post).

HCCA has been more active on Facebook, consistently posting about new health

services in the ACT, raising awareness of international and local health days and

connecting with our followers through staff updates and photos.

Twitter: The HCCA gained 142 followers on Twitter in this

financial year, bringing our current total to 647

followers. Twitter allow us to keep up to date with

current health issues and engage with stakeholders,

including local government members. HCCA staff and

consumer representatives use their personal Twitter

accounts when attending health events and

conferences to engage in conversations about

important consumer health issues.

Radio HCCA continued to promote health services and our

organisation through local and community radio. Our

Multicultural Liaison Officer, Yelin Hung, spoke to the

Communication and Promotion

Nasreen Hafesjee interviewing Yelin

Hung at the Yes She Can radio

program

23

Yes She Can radio program about

Advanced Care Planning.

Website

http://www.hcca.org.au

The HCCA website continues to be an

important platform for consumers and

members to access information about the

organisation. HCCA plans to review the

website’s content to ensure that we are

delivering the right content to our

members and consumer representatives.

It currently features easy access to our

blog and social media sites, all recent policy submissions and publications of our

newsletter Consumer Bites. Along with the review of content, HCCA will review the

layout of the website next year to ensure that it is easy to use and easy to navigate. We

will keep you updated as to how these features will develop into the future.

Blog http://hcca-act.blogspot.com This financial year HCCA posted a total of 34 blog posts on topics, including

walkthroughs of new health facilities, ACT Budget updates and updates on new health

services in the ACT .The HCCA blog continues to be a place where members and

consumer representatives can read in-depth analysis on important health issues in our

community and reports on public consultations and forums that HCCA was involved in.

The HCCA blog was viewed by 3,080 people between July 2014 and June 2015. This

is an increase in over 1,000 views from last year. We feature consumer representatives

and members as guest authors from time to time to talk about key messages from

conferences they have attended. The blog will continue to be a vital format for

communicating with the public on health issues that matter to us and we hope to

feature more guest authors and greater integration with our other social media

platforms and Consumer Bites.

Eleanor Kerdo and Khalia Lee working on the social

media planning for the year - June 2015

HCCA Staff promoting Wear It Purple day in August 2015

24

Our health policy program provides opportunities to a

broad spectrum of people in the community including

disadvantaged and marginalised health consumers to

provide input into policy processes. Through our

Health Policy Program we promote consumer

participation in the health system by providing

opportunities for consumers to improve their health

services through consultation, feedback and research.

We work to increase health consumers’ ability to

advocate for themselves and their family. During this

financial year HCCA submitted 51 submissions or

feedback to government. 40 of these where made to

the ACT Health Directorate, two were delivered to

other ACT Government directorates. Nine submissions

were delivered to Federal Bodies. As the Policy Officer I have also led research into

consumer experiences of Registered Nurses for the review of the National Registered

Nursing Standards. HCCA continues to work closely with those doing research into

consumer experience and health services to ensure our voice is heard.

I am extremely proud of the work HCCA does in policy. We are privileged to work with

such engaged and passionate members and consumer representatives who are driven

to help change our health system and improve our health care

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank all who participated in HCCA policy work

this year, attending consultations or focus groups, providing feedback on documents or

calling attention to consumer issues! We could not do it all without you. I am

particularly grateful to the members of the HCCA Health Policy Steering Committee

who work tirelessly to support and guide HCCA Policy.

Eleanor Kerdo Policy Officer

Health Policy

Eleanor Kerdo at the AGM in 2014

HCCA staff meeting with Jane Pepper and Marilynne Read from ACT Health and

Amanda Davies from the ACT Mental Health Consumer Network

25

We have graphed our submissions and feedback against the six HCCA policy priority

areas to show where we have the most activity. Because we do so much work around

health literacy, we have included this in the graph below. Quality and safety in health

care was an extremely large area of activity with 38% of our submissions relating to this

priority area. This is quite a broad category and includes, but is not limited to comments

on local and national health service plans, Standards Operating Procedures and

guidelines, and clinical frameworks. Health workforce is a new priority for this financial

year and has also proven to be an active area with submissions around health

workforce training, education and health infrastructure. In the coming financial year we

hope to increase our policy activity in aged care, chronic conditions and self-

management and primary health care.

Health Policy

Caitlin Stamford presenting to ACT Health staff at the Gastroenterology

Unit at the Canberra Hospital on the National Safety and Quality Health

Service Standards - October 2014.

26

Health Infrastructure Program

The Health Infrastructure Program

(HIP) team at HCCA has continued

to see a steady growth in

involvement across various

projects over the last financial year.

This has resulted in improved

consumer participation at all levels

of planning, design, and models of

care development for the various

new and expanded ACT Health

services and facilities. This

involvement represents, in some

cases, a once in a lifetime

opportunity to advocate for patient centred design elements to be included in these

new and upgraded facilities. This is exciting and important work. The University of Canberra Public Hospital This financial year we were pleased to have continued input into the planning and

design the University of Canberra Public Hospital (UCPH). In the last half of 2014, the

UCPH project moved into the design phase culminating in the development of the

Preliminary Sketch Plans for UCPH. This work encompassed many different user

groups across many service areas and we were very fortunate to have dedicated

consumer representatives across these. The project then moved on to defining the

models of care that will underpin how care is delivered at this new facility. Our tireless

consumer representatives once again worked across many different areas to advocate

for a patient centred approach to this care. In 2015, we saw the release of the

Reference Design for public consultation and many members attended a HCCA

facilitated consultation to provide feedback to the Design and Operational teams to be

incorporated into the future design. Some of the feedback included: Close proximity car parking Generous drop off zones Easy access to outdoor courtyard spaces for each inpatient unit Close proximity to public transport Patient centred inpatient units with high single bed ratios to ensure patient

privacy, safety, and dignity Family/ carer spaces Access to hydrotherapy resource for external groups Adequate space for mobility aids in all areas Dementia specific design elements throughout Clear signs and maps of facilities Decentralised staff stations to increase nurse efficiencies and allow more time to

be spent with patients A walking track

Nick Wales, Darlene Cox and Kerry Snell visiting the new Royal

North Shore Hospital in Sydney - November 2015

27

We will continue to be closely involved with

this project throughout the forthcoming

stages, including a community consultation

on the Model of Care / Service Delivery and

an information session upon the release of

the final design. The University of Canberra

Public Hospital is planned to open in early

2018. The Canberra Hospital Emergency

Department Expansion and Paediatric

Streaming The consumer perspective has also been well represented in the planning and design

of the new Paediatric Stream and Emergency Department (ED) Expansion at the

Canberra Hospital. This project has proceeded at a fast pace, however consumer

involvement and feedback has been included throughout the planning of the project.

This has been provided through the use of User Group meetings and regular meetings

with the project team at ACT Health. Consumers have been advocating for: Patient centred design of reception desk including no barrier between patient and

staff and wheelchair accessible Comfortable and flexible furniture provision in the main triage area and sub wait

areas The provision of recliner chairs at bedside in treatment bays Adequate and comfortable private breastfeeding and family spaces within the ED Timely communication around the disruptions, noise, and other impacts caused

by the construction Systemically addressing the safety issues at the ED drop off area which is used

as the main drop off and pick up point by staff and consumers who could in most

cases use the alternate drop off zones Staging and Decanting at the Canberra Hospital This project involves moving some of the services from Building 3 to a new building

located at Building 15, the old Psychiatric Unit. We had involvement throughout this

process with many User Groups developing plans for different service areas. This

project is nearing completion of the first stage with some services relocating to the new

Building 15 in the latter part of 2015. Issues advocated in this project were: Adequate provision of patient centred design features in the new ambulatory care

inpatient areas of this project. Timely and adequate communication around the bus stop changes The implementation of an alternative and accessible entry point into Building 3 for

those unable to navigate the steep walk to the ED entrance from the relocated

bus stops Improved signs and maps due to access changes Calvary Car Park At the Calvary Public Hospital we have had continued involvement in the planning for

the new multi storey car park, which is expected to be completed early 2017. HCCA

University of Canberra Public Hospital Consultation in

April 2015

28

advocated for: Clear accesses to the carpark Rest stops between the carpark and the hospital Clear communication on the changes to parking arrangements

The new Canberra Hospital Clinical Services Building (Building 3/2) We were involved in the initial planning toward this project with the completion of

approximately 30 planning briefs. However, the project has been put on hold pending a

taskforce review to examine the health needs of the Canberra region. HCCA has

advocated strongly for these issues in this project: 80 percent single bed ratio for inpatient units in line with contemporary design

trends which focus on patient centred care, safety, privacy, and dignity. Family resource rooms throughout the inpatient areas to provide a quiet space for

families/carers/friends to relax and still remain part of the care team Provision of patient entertainment unit that can assist the patient in accessing

their eHealth records, maintaining their health literacy around their condition or

simply staying in touch with the outside world Design and resources that enable point of care write up by nursing and other staff

to enable more time with patients None of this advocacy would have been possible without the dedicated, hardworking,

and ever supportive consumer representatives who nominate for User Groups and

committees, attend consultations and orientation sessions, and report back at the

monthly Network meetings. A great big appreciative thank you to you all. In total, this

period has seen 103 HIP reps across 75 HIP committees. It’s been a big year and we

thank you all from the bottom of ours hearts. Kerry Snell and Nick Wales Health Infrastructure Program Team

HCCA members and staff visiting the new Walk in Centre

in Tuggeranong

Health Infrastructure Program Network Meeting - 2014

Jo Bothroyd and Trish Lord

29

Hola a todos!!! The 2014 – 2015 period has been

incredibly busy for the Health Literacy Program. We

have been developing and delivering Health Literacy

information sessions to implement the HCCA Health

Promotion Framework. Health literacy is important as it

can empower consumers to have control and

understanding of their own health and increase their

awareness of, and ability to influence control over, the

social determinants of heath in our community. We

conduct information sessions for community groups

about navigating the health system in the ACT, after-hours primary health care options, the ACT Health

Infrastructure Program, advance health care planning,

and understanding Medicare and the Pharmaceutical

Benefits Scheme.

It is my pleasure to have been able to provide these

information sessions to a variety of Culturally and

Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups and organisations

such as: Canberra Islamic Centre Executive

Committee Group, Ethnic Disability ACT, Community

Development Peer Network, Canberra Multicultural

Community Forum, Seniors Multicultural Information &

Learning Exchange (SMILE) Group, Companion

House, ACTCOSS, Hepatitis ACT and RSI & Overuse

Injury Association of the ACT. In the 2014 – 2015

period we provided these information sessions to over

700 people. We have been extremely privileged that

these groups welcomed us. For CALD groups, the

language barrier and a lack of information in

community languages continue to be a major barrier to

accessing health services. Other issues involve lack of

information on how to access health services in

different areas of the health system, relying on public

transport to get to medical appointments, and poor

signage and wayfinding in health facilities. Parking

issues in various health facilities was also a noted

concern.

Another exciting activity that I enjoy doing is

participating in community radio programs talking about

the work HCCA does and the information sessions we

provide. The programs HCCA has been part of are

‘Yes She Can’ and ‘The Multimix’, both broadcasted

through Canberra Multicultural Service Radio Station

Health Literacy Program

Yelin Hung

Yelin Hung presenting to the SMILE

Group

Yelin Hung and Sandra Avila presenting

to the Croatian group from Southside

Community Services

Yelin Hung presenting to the Chinese

Group

Yelin Hung presenting to the Greek

group from Carers ACT

30

91.1 FM. It is fascinating how our unique Nasreen

Hafesgee (‘Yes She Can’ Program Broadcaster and

HCCA Administration Officer) operates all kind of buttons

in that room and makes it happen. We will continue our

participation in various radio programs and in different

languages too.

Part of my job is to contribute to shaping health equity

and I do this by participating in an ACT Housing

committee to provide consumer input. This committee

provides tenants with an opportunity to take part in and

manage activities that contribute to the planning and

delivery of housing services in the ACT. Housing is one

of the social determinants of health and must be

accessible for all to ensure health equity.

There have been various multicultural events which I am

fortunate to have attended. I am grateful to be able to

taste the different flavours of the world and dance

different rhythms other than my Latin American beats

(Salsa, Merengue and Samba…). Some of the events I

have attended are: National Multicultural Festival, Indian

Classical Music (Carnatic) concert, luncheon with

various CALD groups, national days and informal

gatherings.

Another program I joined at the beginning of 2015 is the

Advance Health Care Planning (ACP). I enjoy assisting

Christine Bowman developing and delivering ACP

information sessions to our CALD community. This

means that HCCA continues to strengthen our

relationship and trust with these communities, increasing

the number of members approaching us for health

related advice and information.

It is very important that HCCA is out and about in the

community. I have been organising HCCA stalls the last

two years at various locations including the Canberra

Hospital, Calvary Hospital, Seniors Expo, Control &

Choice Expo and other events. The idea of having these

stalls is to increase HCCA visibility to talk to people

about what HCCA does, promote ACT health services

available to the community and of course collect

feedback about health services. The challenge

continues in 2016 to provide more information to more

groups because “there is nothing about us without us.”

Hasta la vista…..

Yelin Hung Multicultural Liaison Officer

Yelin Hung presenting to the Spanish

Group from Carers ACT

Yelin Hung presenting to the Bingo

Group from Southside Community

Services

Yelin Hung presenting to the

Belconnen Women’s Group

Yelin Hung presenting to the

Vietnamese Group from Carers ACT

Yelin Hung presenting to the

Morshead Village

Yelin Hung presenting to the Italian

Group from Carers ACT

31

Advance Care Planning Program

In January 2015 I started working as the Co-ordinator of the Advance Health Care

Planning project and by the end of February

Yelin Hung, Multicultural Liaison Officer and I

had completed the Respecting Patient

Choices Facilitator training and the program

named 'A Conversation for Everyone' was off

and running. This is a two year project funded

by the ACT Government.

Since then there has been significant consultation and networking with organisations

and individuals to inform the content of training and the best presentation style for each

particular sector. The target groups that we are most interested in engaging with are

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, Socially and Financially Disadvantaged and/or

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups.

These consultations were extremely valuable in identifying common issues and those

that are sector specific. We designed training that incorporated these ideas. So far

there are three separate modules: general, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)

specific and NSW specific.

The first six months of this program has seen sessions delivered to:

eight different Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities Four sessions for the general public advertised through CD Net (Community

Development Network) four sessions for specific organisations

one NSW presentation

Using quality assurance principles, the modules are continually assessed and tailored

based on the evaluations of participants. There are significant challenges in delivering

this program in the general community as well as the specific target groups we are

aiming to engage with. The overarching challenge is societal attitude toward end of life.

Stigma, fear and, at times, the sense that we are mentioning the unmentionable have

led to an innovative program that is willing and able to be as flexible and sensitive to

individuals and group needs as is required. This includes moving at a pace that is

acceptable to all those involved. The process itself is not complicated but does require

that we think carefully about our values and way of life.

This contemplation, the deliberate setting aside of time to choose the values that are

most important to us, can become a motivator to ensure that we are currently living our

life in that way. As such, what starts out as thoughts of end of life care becomes a

powerful life affirming process of choice, control and living and dying based on personal

values.

Christine Bowman Advance Care Planning Coordinator

Christine Bowman delivering a session on Advance

Care Planning

32

Getting out and about

Throughout 2014-2015 HCCA held ten community stalls in the ACT. The purpose of

having these stalls is to inform the community about the current ACT health services

and how to navigate the health system. This helps people to have a better

understanding and knowledge of the health system. We also talk to consumers about

the work HCCA does and the different ways they can become active health consumer

advocates to make health services healthier.

The following table shows the stalls HCCA had during this period:

Date Stall

1/9/2014 Canberra Hospital, Garran

3/9/2014 Self Help & Wellbeing Expo, Hellenic Club Woden

10/11/2014 Canberra Hospital, Garran

5/2/15 World Cancer Day Stall, Canberra Region Cancer Centre at the Canberra Hospital

15/2/15

Multicultural Festival - CMCF shared Stall, City

2/3/15

Canberra Hospital, Garran

17/3/15

Seniors Expo 2015, Thoroughbred Park, Randwick Road, Lyneham

11/5/15

Calvary Hospital, Bruce

21/5/15

Control & Choice Expo, Exhibition Park in Canberra Budawang Pavillion Mitchell

15/6/15

Canberra Hospital, Garran

Kate Gorman and Eleanor Kerdo at the

Canberra Hospital Yelin Hung, Nick Wales and Sandra Avila at the

Control & Choice Expo

33

Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee

The Consumer Representatives Program Steering Committee assists with the

planning and oversight of activities related to the HCCA Consumer Representatives

Program and the selection of consumer

representatives.

Chair: Adele Stevens

Member: Alan Thomas

Member: Bill Heins

Member: Pat Branford

Member: Marion Reilly

Member: Nick Wales

Member: Caitlin Stamford

Secretariat: Sandra Avila from July 2014 to December 2014

Secretariat: Kate Gorman from February 2015 to June 2015

HCCA Committees 2014 - 2015

The Health Policy Steering Committee

The Health Policy Steering Committee provide oversight and advice in relation to

HCCA policy submissions and position statements. This year they have been working

hard to establish evaluation criteria and frameworks for HCCA policy and submission

input.

Chair: Dr Susan Andrews

Member: Fiona Tito-Wheatland

Member: Joy Pettingell

Member: Michelle Banfield

Member: Heidi Zajac ( July 2014 –

March 2015)

Ex Officio Member: Darlene Cox

Secretariat: Eleanor Kerdo

Nick Wales, Pat Branford, Alan Thomas, Marion Reilly,

Bill Heins, Caitlin Stamford and Adele Stevens

Michelle Banfield, Sue Andrews, Eleanor Kerdo and Fiona Tito

Wheatland.

34

Consumer Representatives Program

It’s been a fantastic year! In the 2014-15

financial year, the Consumer Representatives

Program continued to facilitate consumer

participation on health service committees

across Canberra and the region. In total, there

were 52 consumer representatives on 227

committees in this period. This is more than

double our contractual obligations to ACT

Health and an amazing effort from all involved.

The Consumer Representatives Program

endorsed consumer representatives to 74 new

committees between July 1 2014 and June 30

2015. The end of 2014 saw a flurry of activity for consumer representatives, as many opportunities arose for us to get involved in the

planning and design of new health buildings. Over the first half of 2015, some of

HCCA’s most experienced members put a lot of work into the different Standards

Groups to prepare for the accreditation of the Canberra Hospital in May 2015. In the

report announcing the successful re-accreditation of the Canberra Hospital, the HCCA/

ACT Health partnership was commended by the accreditation team who were

extremely impressed by the involvement of HCCA’s Consumer Leads.

The Consumer Representatives Program aims to be responsive to the needs and

feedback of our consumer representatives. We continually update our policies and

procedures to better serve our members, and provide clear guidance for both the

consumer representatives and HCCA staff in new circumstances which may arise in

the course of their work. We maintain a robust and respectful relationship with ACT

Health and other health services staff, and continually liaise with them to share

information and address issues to ensure that the consumer representative role is a

positive and rewarding experience.

Our dedicated and passionate consumer representatives continue to volunteer many

hours of their time to contribute to better decision-making and help ensure consumers

play an integral role in shaping better health outcomes for all. Their presence was

sought and valued on a range of committees this year, and we celebrated their

achievements at our annual Thank You Celebration in February 2015.

We would like to once again thank all our consumer representatives for their efforts and

achievements and we look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that health

care consumers have a strong voice on health service committees across Canberra

and the region. Your commitment and passion inspire us and we are also privileged to

work with you. Caitlin Stamford and Kate Gorman Consumer Representatives Program Team

Kate Gorman and Caitlin Stamford

35

Adele Lewin

Adele Stevens

Adina Jordan

Alan Thomas

Anna Saxon

Bernard Borg-Caruana

Bill Heins

Claire Howe

Dave Baxter

Denis Strangmen

Denise Mott

Don Malcolmson

Fiona Tito-Wheatland

Fran Parker

Geoff Ward

Geri Badham

Helen Cotter

Helen Dyriw

Ian Trewhella

Indra Gajanayake

Jacinta Dugbaza

Jenny Berrill

Jo Bothroyd

Joanne Baumgartner

Kate Moore

Kathryn Briant

Katrina Muir

Kay Henderson

Leia Earnshaw

Lisa Harris

Lisa Quilter

Louise Bannister

Marg McCulloch

Margaret Johnson

Margaret Wolf

Marion Dean

Marion Reilly

Ngaire Whitehead

Pam Graudenz

Pat Branford

Peter Dwyer

Rick Lord

Roger Killeen

Russel McGowan

Sue Andrews

Sue Schreiner

Susan Westwood

Terry Swarner

Toni Hicks

Trish Lord

Victoria Toulkidis

Consumer Representatives

Organisational Representatives 2014 - 2015

Caitlin Stamford

Christine Bowman

Darlene Cox

Eleanor Kerdo

Kate Gorman

Kerry Snell

Nick Wales

Sandra Avila

Yelin Hung

HCCA Consumer Representatives Forum

HCCA Members at a workshop at Medicare Local

looking at how they can transition to the Primary Heath

Network

36

Consumer Representatives Training

HCCA’s consumer representatives training provides a broad snapshot of how

consumers can be involved in their own health care and tailored to the interests and

knowledge of the attendees. Each training session covers five modules over two days

and focusses on consumer perspective, consumer participation, effective consumer

representation, navigating the health care system and patient safety issues.

Participants also learn about the broader work of HCCA, including our Health

Infrastructure Program and Health Literacy Project. Guest speakers are sourced from

our pool of experienced consumer representatives. The opportunity to hear real -life

experiences and ask questions is always appreciated by participants, and helps them

to understand the role of a consumer representative to decide if it is right for them. The

training is very well received and the sessions held in 2014-15 were no exception, with

overwhelmingly positive feedback given by participants.

In the 2014-15 financial year, the Consumer Representatives Program team

coordinated three training sessions of two days each: July-August 2014, November

2014 and June 2015. A total of 49 people attended the training sessions. Five

trainees, including one HCCA staff member, were subsequently endorsed to health

service committees, and three attended conferences. Other recent trainees have

become involved in HCCA in different ways, including contributing to policy

submissions, attending health issues groups and networking with their colleagues and

friends to increase awareness of how consumers can take control of their own health.

HCCA Consumer Representatives Training in November 2014

HCCA Consumer Representatives Training in June 2015

37

The Consumer Representatives Program is proud to continue to sponsor our consumer

representatives and staff to attend conferences and other events. This provides our

members with the opportunity to increase their knowledge and pursue their particular

interests within health, and facilitates discussion and knowledge-sharing amongst our

members after the event.

Sponsored Conference Attendance

July 2014 Consumer’ Health Forum Workshop for

Consumer and Community

Representatives Sue Andrews Michelle Banfield August 2014 Quantum Leap Conference – Health

Innovation: Making Quality Count Lisa Harris September 2014 7

th Annual ACT Alcohol, Tobacco and

Other Drug Sector Conference Kim Novak Susan Westwood Community Health - Making

Accreditation Work for You Workshop Sue Schreiner October 2014 ACT Medicare Local Future Thinking

Symposium Pat Branford Bernard Borg Caruana Katrina Muir Rick Lord Jenny Berrill Margaret McCulloch Bill Heins

Shelly McInnis November 2014 2014 Population Ageing and Australia’s

Future Symposium Bev McConnell Kay Henderson

March 2015 Are you ready for NDIS? The NDIS:

‘Change, Challenge and Choice’

Conference Denise Mott Marion Reilly June 2015 National Blood Symposium

Jo Bothroyd Sue Andrews

Fran Parker and Alan Thomas

38

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

ACT Bodies ACT Council of Social Services Executive Committee Darlene Cox* ACT Ethnic Disability Committee Yelin Hung* ACT Gene Technology Advisory Council Claire Howe ACT Local Hospital Network Council Darlene Cox* ACT Multicultural Mental Health Network Yelin Hung* Asthma Support Network Steering Committee Yelin Hung* Canberra Health Alliance Steering Group Russell McGowan Joint Community Government Reference Group Darlene Cox* Ochre Health Clinical Governance Board Meeting Darlene Cox* Women with Disabilities ACT Executive Steering Committee Eleanor Kerdo* ACT Community Services Directorate

Better Services Blueprint Taskforce Darlene Cox*

Better Services Blueprint Evaluation

Working Group Eleanor Kerdo*

ACT Medicare Local/Capital Health

Network ACT ED Primary Care Attendances

Research Study Steering Committee Darlene Cox*

ACT Healthpathways Governance

Committee Darlene Cox*

ACT Medicare Local Better Chronic

Disease Management Working Group Katrina Muir

ACT Medicare Local Board Darlene Cox*

ACT Medicare Local Consumer

Engagement and Empowerment Advisory

Panel Caitlin Stamford*

Capital Alliance (Calvary and ACTML) End

of Life Workgroup Adele Stevens

Connect up For Kids Steering Group Kate Gorman*

GP Aged Day Services (GPADS) Clinical

Governance Committee Alan Thomas

Health Promotion Innovation Fund

Assessment Panel Yelin Hung*

Medicare Local After Hours Program

Reference Group Jenny Berrill

Medicare Local Clinical Governance

Committee Russell McGowan

Population Health Reference Group Darlene Cox*

* Organisational Representative

39

Primary Health Care Advisory Council Darlene Cox*

Australian National University

ANU Integrated Care Research Project Jenny Berrill Russell McGowan

National Centre for Geographic and

Analysis in Primary Health Care Advisory

Group Russell McGowan Calvary Public Calvary Car Park Meeting Nick Wales*

Calvary Health Infrastructure and Planning

Executive Steering Committee Alan Thomas

Calvary Hospital Smoke Free Environment

Implementation Working Group Yelin Hung*

Calvary Patient Safety Committee Jenny Berrill Sue Andrews

Medication Safety Committee Pat Branford Trish Lord

Ophthalmology Service Relocation Project

Board Russell McGowan

Pain Management Working Group Pat Branford

Partnering with Consumers and Carers

Advisory Group Caitlin Stamford*

Calvary John James

Calvary John James Community Advisory

Committee Darlene Cox*

Canberra Hospital and Health Services

Clinical Ethics Committee Anna Saxon Sue Andrews

Cancer, Ambulatory and Community

Health Support

ACT Lymphoedema Services Plan 2014-2018 Steering Committee Marion Dean

ACT Palliative Care Clinical Network Adele Stevens

ACT Palliative Care Committee Fran Parker

Ambulatory Care Steering Committee Eleanor Kerdo*

BreastScreen ACT Community Reference

Group Joanne Baumgartner Louise Bannister

Cancer Centre Volunteer Coordinator

Selection Panel Bill Heins

Cancer Health Care System Information

Management Committee Terry Swarner

Cancer, Ambulatory and Community

Health Support Clinical Governance

Committee Meeting Rick Lord Victoria Toulkidis

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

40

Community Health Centre Administration

Support Model Steering Committee Joanne Baumgartner Margaret Johnson

Palliative Care Clinical Network Adele Stevens

The Canberra Hospital Palliative Care

Model of Care Working Group Adele Stevens

Chief Medical Administrator

Medical & Dental Appointments Advisory

Committee Darlene Cox* Marion Reilly

Clinical Support Services

Nutrition Standards Group Jacinta Dugbaza Lisa Quilter

Patient Support Services Redesign Project

Reference Group Darlene Cox*

Patient Support Services Working Group Adele Lewin

Critical Care

Division of Critical Care Executive

Committee Jo Bothroyd

Emergency Nurse Practitioner Clinical

Practice Guidelines Review Working

Group Darlene Cox*

Patient Flow Steering Committee Kate Moore

Right Test Right Time in Medical Imaging

Project Venturi Working Group Joanne Baumgartner

Department of Health

National Health Services Directory

Advisory Committee Darlene Cox*

Director General

Executive Council Kate Moore

Executive Directors’ Council Fran Parker

Clinical Senate Eleanor Kerdo*

Ministerial Medicines Advisory Committee Kathryn Briant

National Health Reform Program Steering

Committee Darlene Cox*

Donate Life

DonateLife ACT Clinical Advisory

Committee Jenny Berrill

eHealth and Clinical Records

Electronic Medication Management

Steering Committee Indra Gajanayake

eOrders Steering Committee Denise Mott

Information Management and Information

Technology Steering Committee Bernard Borg-Caruana

Shared Electronic Health Record Steering

Committee Bernard Borg-Caruana

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

41

Telehealth Strategy Steering Committee Russell McGowan

HealthCARE Improvement Division

ACT Health Directorate Quality and Safety

Committee Adele Stevens Darlene Cox* Russell McGowan Lisa Harris

The Canberra Hospital Clinical Review

Committee Jo Bothroyd

Clinical Governance Forum Russell McGowan Helen Dyriw

Patient Safety Conversations Sue Andrews

Health Interagency Clinical Review

Committee Anna Saxon

Jo Bothroyd

Better Practice Awards Selection Panel Pat Branford

Care of the Dying Pathway Committee Adele Stevens

Consumer Handout Committee Standard

Two SubGroup Helen Dyriw

Effective Clinical Communication in

Handover Research Project Advisory

Group Russell McGowan

End of Life Care Working Group Adele Stevens

Goal Setting and End of Life Working

Group Adele Stevens

Health Technology Assessment

Committee Russell McGowan

National Standards Steering Committee Darlene Cox*

Nil by Mouth Working Group Terry Swarner

Quality in Health Care Awards Selection

Panel Sue Andrews

Respecting Patient Choices Program

Reference Group Adele Stevens

Standard Two Committee: Partnering with

Consumers Darlene Cox* Helen Dyriw

Standard Three Committee: Healthcare

Associated Infections Ian Trewhella Jenny Berrill

Standard Four Committee: Medication

Safety Kathryn Briant

Standard Five Committee: Patient

Identification and Procedure Matching Jenny Berrill Lisa Harris

Standard Six Committee: Clinical

Handover Russell McGowan

Standard Seven Committee: Blood and

Blood Products Jo Bothroyd

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

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Standard Eight Committee:Respecting

Patient Choices Program Reference Group Pam Graudenz Standard Nine Committee: Recognising

and Responding to Clinical Deterioration in

Acute Health Care Adele Stevens

Standard Ten Committee: Preventing Falls

and Harm from Falls Indra Gajanayake

The Canberra Hospital Visiting Hours

Standard Two SubGroup Sue Andrews

Health Protection Service

Food Regulation Reference Group Kay Henderson

Health Infrastructure and Planning

ACT Health Infrastructure Program

Strategic Committee Darlene Cox*

HIP Executive Steering Committee Kerry Snell*

HIP Project Control Group Alan Thomas

Building 3/2: Clinical Services at

the Canberra Hospital

Ambulatory Care User Group Eleanor Kerdo*

Chaplaincy User Group Terry Swarner

Family Resource Areas User Group Caitlin Stamford*

Food Services User Group Yelin Hung* Sandra Avila*

ICU User Group Russell McGowan

Inpatient Units User Group Alan Thomas Kerry Snell*

Main Entry User Group Lisa Harris

Medical Imaging User Group Roger Killeen

Patient Admissions User Group Fran Parker

Pharmacy User Group Trish Lord

Project Control Group Nick Wales*

Staging and Decanting of the

Canberra Hospital Clinical Services

Project Control Group Russell McGowan

Administration, Allied Health Education,

Renal, Neurology, Neurosurgery,

Rheumatology, Surgical, Clinical Trials,

Discharge Nurse, Stomal Therapy, RACC

Exec User Group Bill Heins

Acute Aged Care Inpatient Units and

Rehabilitation User Group Kerry Snell*

General Beds User Group Marion Dean

Oncology Haematology User Group Marion Dean

Pastoral Care and Multifaith User Group Terry Swarner

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

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Physio, Exercise Physio, Cardiac Rehab,

Speech, OT, Renal, Neurology User

Group Christine Bowman* Nick Wales*

Psychology, Nutrition, Social Work , ALO

User Group Nick Wales*

Psychology/RAC/Nutrition etc User Group Christine Bowman*

Shared Reception / Waiting User Group Christine Bowman* Nick Wales*

Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy,

Renal etc. User Group Denise Mott

University of Canberra Public

Hospital (UCPH)

Project Management Group Kerry Snell*

Clinical Support Medical Imaging Nick

Wales*

Clinical Support Pathology/Body Holding

User Group Alan Thomas*

Clinical Technology & Equipment Services

User Group Bill Heins Denise Mott

Concept Design Committee Kerry Snell*

Day Services User Group Ian Trewhella

Hydrotherapy User Group Joanne Baumgartner

Main Entry & Hospital Operations, Front of

House Staff Amenities Marion Dean

Medical Imaging User Group Bill Heins

Operational Commissioning

Communication Working Group Kerry Snell*

Pathology and Body Holding User Group Alan Thomas*

Pharmacy User Group Trish Lord

Rehabilitation & Aged Care Inpatient Unit

Shared Space User Group Denise Mott

Rehabilitation and Aged Care Inpatient

Units User Group Adele Stevens

Safe Design Committee Kerry Snell*

Security, Fire Safety, Parking and Fleet

Management Nick Wales*

Shared Education & Research User Group Darlene Cox*

Staging and Decanting Operational

Commissioning Working Group Kerry Snell*

Support Services User Group Bill Heins

Workforce Planning Forum Darlene Cox*

Joanne Baumgartner Kerry Snell*

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

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University of Canberra Public

Hospital (UCPH) / Rehabilitation,

Aged and Community Care (RACC)

Model of Care

Rehabilitation, Aged and Community Care

Model of Care/Service Delivery Reference

Group Kerry Snell*

Aged Care Inpatient Services User Group Adele Stevens

Aged Care Outpatient Services User

Group Sue Schreiner

Community Based Services User Group Pam Graudenz

Village Creek Centre Services User Group Nick Wales*

Round One User Groups

Alan Thomas* Christine Bowman* Joanne Baumgartner

Round Two User Groups

Bill Heins Joanne Baumgartner

Round Three User Groups

Bill Heins Joanne Baumgartner

Round Four User Groups Adele Stevens Bill Heins Joanne Baumgartner Kerry Snell*

The Canberra Hospital Emergency

Department Expansion

Project Control Group Kerry Snell*

Adult Acute and Stream B User Group Marion Dean

Emergency Medical Unit User Group Joanne Baumgartner

Forecourt User Group Nick Wales*

Paediatrics Streaming User Group Kerry Snell* Nick Wales*

Resuscitation and Triage User Group Denise Mott

Queue Flow Project

Queue Flow Project Steering Committee Kerry Snell*

Implementation Planning and Design

Workshops Bill Heins Joanne Baumgartner Yelin Hung*

Working Group Joanne Baumgartner

Client Interface Working Group Joanne Baumgartner Yelin Hung*

Other Projects

ACT Lymphoedema Services Plan 2014-2018 Steering Committee Marion Dean

Arts in Health Committee Geri Badham

Capital Region Cancer Centre Executive

Reference Group Victoria Toulkidis Denis Strangmen

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

45

Community Health Centre Executive

Reference Group Bill Heins Yelin Hung*

Community Health Centre Post-Occupancy Review Executive Reference

Group Bill Heins

Outpatients Refurbishment User Group Kerry Snell*

Signage and Wayfinding Stakeholder

Group Yelin Hung* Kerry Snell*

Medicine

ACT Health Diabetes Northside Working

Party Toni Hicks

Adult Obesity Management Working Group

Meeting Fiona Tito-Wheatland

Chronic Disease Management Clinical

Network Marg McCulloch Trish Lord

Diabetes Services Reference Group Roger Killeen

Division of Medicine Quality and Safety

Governance Committee Indra Gajanayake

MH, JH and Alcohol and Drug Service

MH, JH and Alcohol and Drug Service

Divisional Executive Committee Dave Baxter

National Bodies

Advisory Group on Prescription Medicines Kathryn Briant

AHPRA Community Reference Group Darlene Cox*

Australian Commission on Quality and

Safety in Health Care Health Literacy

Advisory Group Darlene Cox*

Australian Commission on Safety and

Quality in Health Care Standard 2:

Partnering with Consumers Review

Technical Advisory Panel Caitlin Stamford*

Australian Council of Health Care

Standards Fiona Tito-Wheatland

Australian Health Care Reform Alliance

Executive Committee Russell McGowan

Australian Medical Council (AMC)

Specialist Education Accreditation

Committee (SEAC) Darlene Cox*

Chiropractic Board of Australia Margaret Wolf

Choosing Wisely Advisory Group Darlene Cox*

Consumer eHealth Alliance Steering

Committee Russell McGowan

Effective Clinical Communication in

Handover Research Project Advisory

Group Russell McGowan

Health Issues Journal Editorial Committee Sue Andrews

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

46

National Advisory Council for Women Eleanor Kerdo*

National Competency Standards for

Registered Nurses Review Project Team Eleanor Kerdo*

National Health Services Directory

Advisory Committee Darlene Cox*

National Safety and Quality Health Service

(NSQHS) Standards Review Steering

Committee Darlene Cox*

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

Advisory Group on Prescription Medicines Kathryn Briant

Nursing and Midwifery

ACT Nursing and Midwifery Network Eleanor Kerdo*

People, Strategy and Services

Canberra Region Prevocational

Management Committee Fiona Tito-Wheatland

Canberra Region Prevocational

Management Education Subcommittee Don Malcolmson

Consumers in Education Working Group Caitlin Stamford* Eleanor Kerdo*

Policy and Government Relations

ACT Primary Health and Chronic Disease

Strategy Committee Jenny Berrill Katrina Muir

ACT Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug

Strategy Evaluation Group Eleanor Kerdo*

Consumer and Carer Participation

Framework Review Individual Level

Working Group Eleanor Kerdo*

Consumer and Carer Participation

Framework Review Organisation Level

Working Group Russell McGowan

Consumer and Carer Participation

Framework Review Service Level Working

Group Darlene Cox*

Consumer and Carer Participation Working

Group Caitlin Stamford* Darlene Cox* Russell McGowan

Multicultural Health Policy Reference

Group Yelin Hung*

Population Health

Health Promotion Innovation Fund

Assessment Panel Yelin Hung*

Rehabilitation, Aged and Community

Care

ACT Domiciliary Oxygen and Respiratory

Support Scheme (DORSS) Advisory

Committee Helen Cotter

ACT Equipment Scheme Advisory

Committee Ian Trewhella Joanne Baumgartner Marion Reilly

Advanced Allied Health Assistant Project

Executive Management Group Darlene Cox*

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

47

Community Care Clinical Governance

Committee Indra Gajanayake Sue Schreiner

Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Clinical

Practice Guidelines Review Committee Darlene Cox*

Recognising and Responding to Clinical

Deterioration in the Community Setting

Working Group Joanne Baumgartner

Rehabilitation, Aged and Community Care

Quality and Safety Committee Louise Bannister

Transitional Therapy and Care Program

(TTCP) Executive Management Meeting Ngaire Whitehead

Walk-in Centre Clinical Advisory Group Roger Killeen Susan Westwood

Strategy and Corporate

ACT Policy Advisory Committee Leia Earnshaw

The Canberra Hospital Smoke Free

Environment Implementation Committee Yelin Hung*

Surgery, Oral Health and Imaging

Nil by Mouth Working Group Terry Swarner

Pain Management Unit Consumer

Representatives Meeting Marg McCulloch Geoff Ward

University of Canberra

Bachelor of Nursing Clinical Stakeholder

Meeting Eleanor Kerdo*

CLLEVER Study Advisory Committee Darlene Cox*

Nursing Postgraduate Advisory Committee Eleanor Kerdo*

Pharmacy Course Advisory Group Rick Lord

University of Canberra Cooperative

Healthy Ageing Research and Teaching

Centre (CHART) in the ACT and Southern

NSW Project Advisory Group Darlene Cox*

University of Canberra Cooperative

Healthy Ageing Research and Teaching

Centre (CHART) in the ACT and Southern

NSW Aged Care Services Council Russell McGowan

Women, Youth and Children

ACT Maternity Services Advisory Network Adina Jordan

Paediatrics Safety and Quality Committee Lisa Harris Kate Gorman* Peter Dwyer

Women, Youth and Children Divisional

Quality and Safety Committee Lisa Harris

List of Consumer and Organisational

Representative Positions 2014-2015

* Organisational Representative

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Our passionate and committed staff work to support our members and consumer

representatives to deliver a stronger consumer voice in the planning, delivery, review

and monitoring of health services in the ACT.

HCCA Staff 2014 - 2015

Executive Director Darlene Cox

Office Manager Sandra Avila

Administration

Policy

Policy Officer

Eleanor Kerdo

Office Morale Officer Hugo the Fish!

Administration Officer Nasreen Hafesjee

Consumer Representative Program Project Officer Kate Gorman

Consumer Representative Coordinator Caitlin Stamford

Consumer Representatives Program

Administrative Officer

Khalia Lee

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HCCA Staff 2014 - 2015

Health Infrastructure Program

Health Infrastructure Program Coordinator Kerry Snell

Health Literacy Program

Communication

Newsletter Editor Kathryn Briant

Office Morale Officer Antonia the Fish!

Multicultural Liaison

Officer Yelin Hung

Health Infrastructure Program Project Officer Nick Wales

Advance Care Planning Christine Bowman

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Staff Changes 2014 - 2015

Nasreen Hafesjee: Started working at HCCA in August 2014 as Administration Officer. Nick Wales: Started working at HCCA in August 2014 as Project Officer of the Health Infrastructure Program. Christine Bowman: Started working at HCCA in January 2015 as Advance Care Planning Coordinator. Kate Gorman: Started working at HCCA in January 2015 as Project Officer of the Consumer Representative Program. Karen Jameson: used to be our Policy officer before retiring in January 2014 but came back to work as a volunteer in November 2014 to provide administrative support.

HCCA staff meeting

HCCA staff supporting Donate Life week

HCCA staff celebrating Yelin Hung’s birthday

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