Consumer participation - Hospitals South

Chris has spent his entire career working in safety, helping people realise the connection between safety, self and team care, and business effectiveness. He is passionate about helping others achieve their business goals with safety and wellbeing as an integral enabler rather than as a compliance burden. 

His energy industry background (nuclear, oil and gas, electricity) and work as a regulator, have equipped him with knowledge of a range of approaches to safety and wellbeing and the breadth of challenges that can arise and has helped him develop the skills to understand what will work in different environments.

Chris has extensive experience in safety and wellbeing maturity assessment and management systems, strategic planning, safety leadership development, and governance and assurance. His achievements include designing and operationalising due diligence and assurance processes, collaboratively developing successful safety and wellbeing strategies, creating and facilitating safety leadership programs, building and facilitating cultural change programs and developing the capabilities of leaders and safety and wellbeing teams through coaching and feedback.

He enjoys using his skills and experience to benefit the community, and membership of the Council enables him to do that by working alongside a diverse group of people with a shared commitment to improving health care services for people in Tasmania. 

Peter worked within the Tasmanian Department of Health (DoH) for 42 years. He began as a trained mental health nurse in institutional and community settings and after ten years of working clinically he moved into the DoH administrative stream.

He has worked across multiple service areas of the DoH and THS, including Mental Health, Public and Environmental Health, Sexual Health, Oral Health, and most recently Facilities, Engineering, and Infrastructure. 

With his wide range of experience and good working knowledge of DoH, THS, and Hospitals South operational areas, he is well-placed to contribute to the activities of the Consumer and Community Engagement Council.

Peter has undertaken considerable post-graduate training in administration, project management and strategic planning, contract management and government procurement. He is also an active member of many community and sporting organisations.

As a former employee of the DoH, and now a current member of the Consumer and Community Engagement Council, he is passionate and committed to collaborating with staff in Hospitals South, the Tasmanian Health Service and the Department of Health on projects to improve health services and delivery. 

Heather is passionate about the need for the consumer viewpoint to be recognised and included in decision-making about health service delivery.

In the first decade of her career as a Registered Nurse, she worked at the bedside in many clinical areas, including acute care, critical care, rehabilitation, and aged care settings. As her nursing career progressed, she moved into clinical manager roles and senior executive-level appointments within the acute care hospital sector. 

Heather’s final years as a Registered Nurse were within the academic arena. Her educational experience involved the completion of a doctorate in nursing and ongoing teaching, researching and publishing on patient safety, clinical governance and human factors. During this time, she also became an Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHCS) surveyor for the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and provided quality and risk management consultancy to private and public health organisations.

She sees the coming years as a time to encourage consumers' engagement in organisational governance, planning, monitoring, and evaluating healthcare delivery systems and processes. With the current commitment from the leadership team in the Tasmanian Health Service and the Department of Health, Heather feels that being a member of the Council provides the opportunity to actively participate in furthering consumer engagement. 

Anne has had many years of experience in the education, health, media, and communication sectors. She began her working life as a teacher in a country high school, and then spent several years with a commercial television production company before becoming a producer of educational radio and television programs for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

A stint in advertising was followed by more than two decades at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) in senior executive positions and project management roles. This extended period saw her working closely with academic staff and students involved in learning and teaching activities integral to the delivery of health professional courses. It also provided opportunities for liaison with clinical and non-clinical staff in the Department of Health and Tasmanian Health Service.

Towards the end of her time at UTAS, she completed a post-graduate course in teaching English to speakers of other languages, to hone her skills as a voluntary teacher and tutor of adult learners from other countries who had come to live in Hobart and the Huon Valley. She has a special interest in supporting people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the broader context of addressing the language, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs of people in Tasmania.

Gill worked as an Allied Health professional for more than 50 years locally and interstate. As a practising physiotherapist she gained extensive experience in clinical practice, management, leadership, training and education and continues to seek professional development opportunities. 

Her professional career included upgrading the Royal Hobart Hospital Women’s Health Physiotherapy service, supporting the establishment of Physiotherapy Outreach and later Physiotherapy in community Health Promotion programs. 

She presented at National Allied Health conferences showcasing innovative Tasmanian programs and services. She holds dear the opportunities granted her during her career to work in multidisciplinary teams and also to undertake mentorship of undergraduate and graduate physiotherapists and physiotherapy assistants.

Gill has served the Tasmanian community as a volunteer for many years as a former director and current member of her local Rotary Club, Probus Club and co-ordinates local physical activity groups for older women. She is a current committee member for Parkinson’s Tasmania and a former Director of Anglicare.  

She has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to advocating for equity and accessibility to services for all health consumers in Tasmania and across all health sectors. It is her priority to support and empower them to invest in their own health and welfare.

Kath has a background in nursing, counselling and secondary school education. After completing her initial nursing training in Victoria, she worked in Emergency Departments and Operating Theatres in Durban, South Africa. This was followed by a move to Belfast in Northern Ireland where she worked and completed a course in operating theatre nursing. 

While bringing up a family she trained as a counsellor and worked part-time in that role for a number of years. She also studied part-time for a Bachelor of Science degree with the aim of taking on a role in education. 

When Kath and her family moved back to Australia, she completed a post-graduate Diploma in Education and then taught maths and science in a secondary school. While doing her degree she had taken the opportunity to complete a year-long module on health and disease and this led to an enduring interest in international health models and health in general. 

Outside her professional activities, Kath is very interested in animal welfare and ethics. This led to her appointment for a six-year term as a Category D (lay) member of Deakin University’s Animal Welfare Committee. Her other interests include management, in particular organisational psychology, conservation, and biodiversity.

Consumer and Community Engagement Council members work with each other and Hospitals South staff in the planning, design, measurement, and evaluation of health care services. They contribute to decision-making processes and policy development for Hospitals South, the Tasmanian Health Service, and the Department of Health to facilitate the delivery of safe, high quality, patient-centred care.

The role 

Consumer and Community Council members make a formal commitment for a specified period to supporting the activities of Hospitals South by:

• preparing for, and attending, monthly meetings of the Council
• participating as members of the eight National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards committees
• contributing to the work of other committees and groups
• providing feedback on consumer information material
• reviewing staff policies and other formal documents of relevance to consumers
• participating in incident review panels and selection panels
• undertaking mandatory and recommended training programs 
• being available for at least 10 hours per month. 

Experience, skills and knowledge

No specific qualifications are required for the role but desirable attributes include:

• an understanding of committee processes and key governance principles and practice
• an ability to work with others, network and communicate clearly 
• an ability to positively influence others and reach consensus
• flexibility in the context of a broad and dynamic agenda
• a willingness to provide constructive feedback and share ideas
• an appreciation of other points of view
• experience in presenting logical, evidence-based suggestions. 

Term of appointment

A Council member’s appointment is for a term of three years.  On expiry of that term, there is an option for the member to extend the term twice more, with each extension being for a period of two years [allowing for a maximum continuous appointment of seven years].  After this the member must re-apply.

Council support

Members of the Consumer and Community Engagement Council are supported by the Chair, other Council members, and the CNC - Consumer Engagement. In undertaking quality improvement activities associated with their role, they are supported by staff in the Quality and Patient Safety Service (QPSS) and staff who chair/organise meetings of various relevant committees and groups.

The Consumer Representative Register (CRR) was established to identify consumers (patients, their families, friends, carers and other support people) who are interested in sharing their experiences, opinions, and ideas for health service improvement. By contributing a strong consumer voice to the activities of Hospitals South, Consumer Representatives can make a positive difference to health service design and delivery.

The role 

Consumer Representatives do not represent specific consumers or communities but participate on an individual basis in activities of particular interest to them. 

These may include:

• reviewing information for consumers (printed documents, posters, signage)
• providing feedback about healthcare services and delivery
• contributing to new programs and models of care 
• belonging to an ad hoc committee, working group, or quality improvement project 
• participating in incident review panels.

Experience, skills and knowledge

No specific qualifications are required for the role but a background of diverse work and life experience, lived healthcare experience and/or levels of education are desirable and:

• an ability to work with others, network and communicate clearly 
• a willingness to provide feedback, share knowledge and ideas, and support others 
• an understanding of the experiences of people from culturally, linguistically, and diverse (CALD) backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people, and people with disabilities or additional needs using health services. 

Consumer representative support

Consumer Representatives are supported in their role by the Clinical Nurse Consultant - Consumer Engagement and the Consumer and Community Engagement Council.  They are informed about relevant activities and offered opportunities to attend consumer training and education sessions as they arise.  By arrangement with the Clinical Nurse Consultant, Consumer Representatives are welcome to attend meetings of the Consumer and Community Engagement Council as observers, to gain insights into consumer participation in the more formal aspects of Hospitals South activity.