HaDSCO Connect: April 2015
Direct from the Director
We invite you to Collaborate and Learn
Disability focus
Regional focus
Consumer and Carer Reference Group
Upcoming events
Need advice?
Direct from the Director
This year has got off to a flying start as we continue to progress with a number of projects aimed at refining complaints processes and promoting issues relating to system improvements. We continue to build and strengthen networks and relationships with both consumers and providers as a means to share and learn, evident through our various work streams.
Our online engagement site – Collaborate and Learn – has been given a fresh look and now has a range of new features added. If you have not already done so I encourage you to visit the site – available to all – and see the resources on offer.
At the launch of the new look site Department of Health Acting Director General, Professor Bryant Stokes, provided his endorsement with the initiative, adding that by using online resources significant improvements could be made to patient care. The launch brought together health service providers from across public, private and not-for-profit sectors, with the focus on how we can better share complaints data, trends and associated improvements, for the benefit of all. Thank you to everyone involved in the event - your support helped make it the success it was.
It is encouraging to see the Consumer and Carer Reference Group (CCRG) continuing to provide input into our service delivery from the consumer perspective. This year March marked one year since their formation and during this time the group has helped influence key projects, such as our publications review, disability focus group series and feedback forms. Group members provide a vital link to the people who access our services, and we acknowledge their views, support and input and look forward to continuing our work with them.
I hope many of you will be able to join us for our Advocates and Community Leaders Open Day scheduled to take place on 29 April. I am delighted we will be partnering in this event with a host of other organisations – many of whom sit on the CCRG – to deliver what we feel will be an incredibly informative and useful day. This free event will bring together consumers, carers and family members, advocates and community leaders from across health, disability and mental health. All attendees must RSVP – the details of how you can do so are included below.
Soon I will be taking part in the Combined Disability and Health Complaints Commissioners Conference, where I will meet with my counterparts from across Australia. The conference will provide a valuable opportunity to open up discussions about the ways in which we can work together to improve complaints processes. Coming together will allow us to look at what is working well, in terms of examples of best practice, and identify areas for extra focus. Two key areas of work include:
- ‘Safeguards for people with disability and the NDIS’; and
- ‘A national project to review the relationship between HCEs and AHPRA’.
This will cover the impact this relationship has on consumers and providers; with a view to making this process more transparent given WA is one of the pilot sites.
I look forward to sharing the outcomes of the conference with you in my next update and working with many of you in the coming months.
We invite you to Collaborate and Learn
Collaborate and Learn – launch event
HaDSCO’s online engagement website - Collaborate and Learn - launched in March to bring together a wealth of complaints data, trends and resources.
The launch brought together key public, private and not-for-profit health service providers, with a focus on how the site can be used to promote system-wide improvements.
At the event Department of Health Acting Director General, Professor Bryant Stokes, provided a welcome address to attendees outlining the benefits of the site, before giving his endorsement and urging others to embrace the concept too. He added that the site provides prompts for vital conversations around opportunities for sharing service improvements and resources, whilst facilitating a common understanding of the top complaint issues consistent across health sectors.
Whilst the launch event focused on health service providers given the release of the 2013-14 complaints data, Collaborate and Learn also hosts a range of information and resources for all sectors – health, disability and mental health.
Collaborate and Learn – Complaints comparison tools
Each year we collect complaints data from public, private and not-for-profit health service providers, including the Department of Health, and Collaborate and Learn now provides a platform for this information to be accessed and compared.
Using de-identified data, we have developed a series of interactive charts to enable users to view not only their own complaints data, but that of their counterparts too, as a means to compare and relate.
From here users are then linked to useful resources that relate to the issues identified in their complaints, helping to support learning and development in these areas.
The closed complaint pages can only be accessed by registered users given the nature of the data. If you would like to request access to these pages please contact mail@hadsco.wa.gov.au.
Collaborate and Learn – Case studies and additional resources
The new look site now includes additional features such as a comprehensive resource page fully equipped with useful tools to promote effective complaints handling and related system improvements. This includes videos, links to useful resources and key documents.
Additionally, a case study library provides examples of the types of complaints we receive and the outcomes achieved. The case study library has been particularly popular, providing insight into the types of complaints and issues dealt with on a daily basis.
Each case study helps to provide an overall picture by including both consumer and provider perspectives, expectations, outcomes and questions to encourage reflection and learning. These examples cover a wide range of complaints including health, disability and mental health, with the ability to filter to particular areas of interest. Moving forward we will continue to add case studies to the library and we look forward to sharing these with you.
Disability focus
HaDSCO’s disability focus groups
After many months of consultation with consumers in the disability sector, March marked the end of our disability focus group series.
Developed in response to the fact we currently do not receive many complaints about disability services, we wanted to better understand any potential barriers people with disabilities face when making complaints.
This saw us host 14 sessions with a variety of consumers, advocates, family members and carers, and provided valuable opportunities to talk through experiences and share insights into how the complaints system is working in the disability sector. Thank you to everyone who attended one of the sessions.
To ensure we maintain our impartial standing, we have now elected to partner with the National Disability Service (NDS) to host a one-off event for disability service providers. At this event disability service providers will be invited to share their experiences of complaints management from their perspectives. The information gathered from this event, when coupled with feedback obtained through the disability focus groups held with consumers, will help to provide a balanced report into complaints management within the disability at present.
The finalisation of the series will see us produce a report and put measures in place to work through the findings and recommendations. We hope to have this complete by the end of the financial year and will continue to keep you posted on the progress of this project.
Disability Services Expo
On 23 March 2015 we attended the Disability Services Commission (DSC) led Disability Services Expo. It provided a great opportunity to meet disability consumers and providers first hand and promote the work of our office.
The event brought together a wide range of services and supports from across the disability sector, providing attendees with a valuable opportunity to learn more about the services available.
Regional focus
Regional outreach
HaDSCO remains committed to ensuring people from across WA have access to our services. During each financial year we undertake a number of outreach programs to meet with consumers and providers in regional WA.
To date this year we have covered the Mid West, Kimberley and South West regions. Whilst in these areas we also held a number of disability focus groups to ensure regional perspective were included, as detailed in the project above. Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend one of these sessions.
Rural Heath West Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition 2015
Additionally, HaDSCO attended and presented at the two day Rural Heath West led Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition 2015. The event brought together regional general practitioners and health workers from areas across WA.
HaDSCO presented on ‘The age old question: What lessons have we learnt from patient complaints?’, discussing our role in complaints management. This also included complaints data for general practice and general practitioners, as well as a range of case studies to discuss medical and treatment themes relevant to elderly patients.
Consumer and Carer Reference Group
HaDSCO’s Consumer and Carer Reference Group (CCRG) celebrated their one year anniversary in March this year.
During this time members have played an integral role by providing feedback on HaDSCO’s upcoming projects and have helped shape the development of future publications and our website.
As part of our evaluation of the group to date, members were asked for their honest feedback. One member added:
“The CCRG meetings demonstrate HaDSCO’s commitment to genuine consumer, carer and family engagement. The CCRG is highly valued by HaDSCO and input we and members provide is not only considered but utilised by HaDSCO in improving and strengthening their consumer, carer engagement strategy” – Anonymous member of our CCRG.
We look forward to continuing our work with this group and we thank all members for their time, input and continuous support.
Calling regional representatives
We are looking for regional consumers to join our CCRG, to ensure communities from across WA have a voice. Meetings are held bi-monthly and include a mix of consumers with lived experiences in health, disability and mental health, as well as key organisation representatives. If you are interested in joining the CCRG please contact Katy Lawton on 6551 7620 or email mail@hadsco.wa.gov.au.
Upcoming events
Advocates and Community Leaders Open Day
On Wednesday 29 April 2015 HaDSCO is set to host a free information event to raise awareness of our services, and those of advocate agencies and associated supports.
Delivered in partnership with eight organisations, the open day has been designed to enable organisations and advocates to share with attendees their role in complaints management.
The event is open to consumer, carers, family members, advocates and community leaders, with all attendees required to RSVP. This can be done by emailing mail@hadsvo.wa.gov.au or contacting 6551 7620. We look forward to seeing many of you there.
More information regarding the Advocates and Community Leaders Open Day is available on our Collaborate and Learn site.
Aboriginal Maternity and Child Health Conference
The Aboriginal Maternity Services Support Unit (AMSSU) is hosting the Aboriginal Maternity and Child Health Conference in Perth 13-14 May 2015.
The conference, themed ‘working together to close the gap’ offers the opportunity for those who work with Aboriginal families to share outcomes, successes and challenges. At this event we will present our ‘Speak up – Do something about it’ Aboriginal video resource, created to highlight our role in dealing with complaints.
For more information or to register your attendance please visit the Aboriginal Maternity Services Support Unit website.
Aboriginal Health Conference 2015: Healthy families - healthy futures
HaDSCO has registered to attend the Rural Health West Aboriginal Health Conference held in Perth on 4-5 July 2015.
The event this year will focus on ‘Healthy families – healthy futures’, giving opportunities for attendees to meet with counterparts working in Aboriginal Health. This conference provides a unique conference for organisations to promote and showcase their products and services to delegates involved in rural health.
For more information or to register your attendance please visit the Rural Health West website.
Need advice?
Complaints are often perceived in a negative light, but we see them differently.
At HaDSCO we view complaints as an opportunity to improve. As an independent statutory body our remit of work is vast and our goal huge. We seek to empower users and providers to collaboratively improve health, including mental health, and disability services.
We offer a free, impartial and confidential complaints resolution service to people across WA and the Indian Ocean Territories, working with both service users, including carers and family members, and providers. Through our various complaint resolution processes we are able to assist service users and providers to reach agreed outcomes, leading to the continued improvement of health and disability services overall.
If you, or someone you know has a complaint about a health or disability service and would like advice or guidance, please contact HaDSCO on (08) 6551 7600 Monday to Friday 8.30am – 4.30pm or email mail@hadsco.wa.gov.au
