In early May the Health Consumers Collaborative of Queensland met together face to face in Brisbane and online to welcome and onboard its new consumer members.
Our new members come from as far north as the tip of Cape York at Seisia and as far west as Roma. Together with our existing members, the Collaborative’s consumers span the generations, include two First Nations representatives, and consumers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as well as those who have strong knowledge on international health systems, and are involved in their local Hospital and Health Service. This diversity of consumer perspectives will contribute to the strength and quality of their conversations in session.
We sincerely thank outgoing consumer members Dr Erin Evans, Lis Miller and Keren Pointon for their valuable contributions.
This strategic, high-level Collaborative is a joint initiative between Health Consumers Queensland and Queensland Health. The Collaborative is tasked with embedding consumer partnerships at every level of planning, policy, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of services provided by Hospital and Health Services and the Department of Health.
The Collaborative is a unique mechanism that brings strategic consumers together across the state with leaders in the health system. We are very proud that it is independent, but also integrated in Queensland Health governance.
Meeting four times a year, the members discuss topics that cut across multiple silos requiring focused and collective thinking at a strategic level. Previous topics have included:
• Implementing and monitoring Queensland Health’s system priorities.
• Strengthening the role of consumers in Queensland Health system governance.
• Getting the balance right: Responding to a COVID surge, delivery of non Covid care and embedding health reform.
• Preparing for the next phase: What have we learnt during transition phase from elimination to suppression (Delta to Omicron)? How do we build a better plane as we fly it?
• Health Reform – health system priorities and issues, and initiatives that are important to consumers.