Quality of Care Report - Ballarat Health Services

Community AdvisoryCommitteeImproving ConsumerParticipationBallarat Health Services CommunityAdvisory Committee (CAC) wasestablished in 2005 to provide anadditional means forconsumer/patient/client and residentsto provide community input into theservice at a higher level of decisionmaking. This direct reporting allowsthe CAC to advocate to the Board ofour Health Services on decisions madein respect to quality of care, ensuringaccountability back to the community.Since its establishment in 2005, theCAC has developed a ConsumerParticipation Plan which outlines theapproach at Ballarat Health Services toconsumer and community involvementacross the organisation. The plan,which is reported annually to DHS,focuses on increasing organisationalcapacity for consumers, carers and thecommunity to become active partnersin decision making at all levelsthroughout BHS. A website has beendeveloped providing information to thecommunity about the role of the CAC.During the past year the committee hasprovided four service areas withcomprehensive reviews andrecommendations. Through the DHSVictorian Patient Satisfaction Monitor,consumers rated their satisfaction withBallarat Health Services higher than theaverage score of similar hospitals andhigher than the statewide benchmarkfor all public hospitals.Ballarat Health Services continues todemonstrate its accountability to thecommunity, encouraging members ofthe CAC to be actively involved inservice delivery and planning bymeeting the requirements set out inthe guide lines for consumerparticipation “Doing it with us not forus” policy (DHS, 2006).Community Participation PlanThe CAC has developed a consumer,carer and community participationregister.If you are interested in bringing acommunity perspective to decisionsthat are made at BHS, we are currentlyseeking consumers, carers andcommunity members interested inhealth issues to join the consumerregister. Being a member of theconsumer register creates opportunitiesfor those interested in health issues toparticipate on committees and becomeinvolved with projects. If you areinterested in joining the consumerregister, please contact the ConsumerLiaison Officer on 03 53204014 forfurther information about consumerparticipation at BHS.Community Review at Service LevelIn order to promote consumerparticipation in a meaningful way atBHS the Consumer Participation ServiceTool was developed. The tool wasbased on the National Resource CentreConsumer and CommunityParticipation Self Assessment (2004)and the principles of “Doing it with usnot for us” participation policy (DHS,2006).The aim of the review process is tosupport services within BHS to improvethe quality of care provided, byfacilitating the participation ofconsumers and the community in the86848280787674planning of services and care. Thereviews are conducted by the CAC inparticipation with the manager of theservice involved.The Consumer Participation ServiceReview (CPSR) involves the committeemembers receiving a package ofinformation about the service and itsplans or current activities prior to thereview. The manager and relevantteam members then attend the CACmeeting to present a brief overview ofthe service followed by a tour of thedepartment. This includes ongoingdiscussion with the CAC about specificconsumer participation strategies basedon the CPSR tool and answering anyquestions. The CAC then providewritten feedback andrecommendations to the managerutilising the CPSR tool.The CAC engaged in four servicereviews during the 2007-2008 yearrepresenting a cross section of theorganisation. Services reviewedincluded the Dialysis Unit, Cateringincluding a visit to the kitchen, the WBMesser Hostel at Queen ElizabethVillage and Gandarra Palliative CareUnit. The CAC believe that the reviewshave been an effective communicationvehicle for service managers thatpreviously may have a different level ofunderstanding and commitment toconsumer participation based more ondoing the “right thing” for patientsthan community participation.72Wave 9 Wave 10 Wave 11 Wave 12 Wave 13 Wave 14Ballarat Health Services 78 84 77 80 78 81Hospital Category B mean 80 80 79 80 78 79Statewide Mean 81 80 80 80 79 80Patient satisfaction measures achieved by BHS compared against other comparable hospitals andstate wide results.7Ballarat Health Services Quality of Care Report 2007-08