22 May 2020
At the Queensland Clinical Senate meeting on Monday, clinicians and consumers from across the state examined the innovations and improved models of care which have come out of the response to COVID-19, and made recommendations about what should be kept and developed beyond this pandemic.
As the public health system starts to look forward, Health Consumers Queensland has also been continuing to talk with consumers this week about who is being left behind.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted inequalities, inequities and discrimination in the healthcare system and our daily lives so we asked our COVID-19 Community of Interest Group, members of the Health Consumers Collaborative of Queensland and our own Consumer Advisory Group (CAG) as well as HHS CAG Leaders and Engagement Advisers:
- Who is being left behind?
- Why are they being left behind?
- What can the system do and what can consumers do to address some of these issues?
Whilst many Queenslanders are now starting to enjoy life with some recent relaxations to restrictions, consumers and advisers identified over 25 groups of people whose health and/or social circumstances mean they are still unable to leave their homes or are particularly vulnerable to infection and the effects of prolonged isolation.
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15 May 2020
Queensland Health has just released two new videos and key messaging, which consumers and the team here recently reviewed, to reassure the public that hospitals are open and ready to provide safe and essential care. Their release comes after staff raised concerns about patients not attending scheduled appointments or going to hospital when they are very unwell or in need of urgent care.
Experienced consumers had already highlighted the lack of information for consumers about what hospitals were doing to make them feel safe. Good communication prior to a visit is important. Once there, consumers then feel more comfortable about the practices in place to ensure their safety. It is encouraging to see that the videos have incorporated this feedback and acknowledge the confusion caused by the changes in public messages.
In order to assist Queensland Health to deepen its understanding of what matters to patients and continue to build renewed trust and confidence, this week we asked our COVID-19 Community of Interest, CAG Leaders, members of the Health Consumers Collaborative of Queensland and our own Consumer Advisory Group if healthcare feels safe to them right now in public hospitals and health service settings. Specifically:
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- Are measures such as PPE and distancing enough to make you feel protected? Are they being used adequately in healthcare you have experienced recently?
- Are distancing guidelines being followed by others, or being enforced by the healthcare service?
- After being in lockdown for weeks, do you feel confident to go out in public to seek healthcare?
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8 May 2020
The way we receive and experience health care has changed so quickly during the past few months. As with any situation, both challenges and opportunities have come from living through a global pandemic. While the negatives are easy to identify, we have also seen Queensland Health:
- Involve consumers in new and innovative ways
- Quickly implement new models of care such as widespread access to telehealth and hospital in the home
- Reduce care that is of low benefit
- Roll out changes that have been long suggested but have not previously gained traction
- Achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness of established care models.
Meanwhile, here at Health Consumers Queensland, we are connecting and consulting directly with consumers far more than we ever have, in newly adopted ways, and we’ve been able to amplify your voices with greater impact, urgency and meaning than ever before.
And what do consumers think? As the Queensland Clinical Senate gears up to meet with its clinicians on 18 May to explore the innovative practices in health care which have been developed during COVID-19, Health Consumers Queensland has embraced the opportunity this week to ask our consumer groups to reflect on what the public health system’s response has meant to them.
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1 May 2020
A consumer recently described the challenge facing Queensland Health as it pivoted to face a pandemic on a scale not previously experienced during the past 100 years, as like expecting “a massive ship to turn on a dime.”
Indeed, at Health Consumers Queensland we have never seen the health system work this hard and this collaboratively to care for its consumers. Bureaucracy and inflexibility have given way to connectedness, transparency and agility as different departments, HHSs and other health sectors (private and community), community controlled health organisations and NGOs share resources, information and expertise to prepare staff and consumers if the curve could not be controlled.
Around the world we have seen how public health systems have been overwhelmed by the numbers of people testing positive for COVID-19 who have required life-saving care. As tough restrictions were imposed across Australia at the end of March, it looked as if we would be following in their wake. However, as the past week has demonstrated, we are instead recording fewer and fewer positive cases.
Now Australia finds itself in a unique position worldwide. Our health systems, including Queensland Health, must turn on their axes once more and re-calibrate as they seek to navigate a ‘’new normal” where a constant state of readiness for COVID-19 can co-exist alongside a reinstatement of some regular health care services including some elective surgery.
Yet just because Queensland Health is able to open up elective surgery right now does not mean it won’t have to suspend it again. We know that this virus is unpredictable and ever-changing and we cannot afford to be complacent.
It will be Queensland Health’s ability to co-design sensitive clinical responses and communication mechanisms with consumers and carers which will help its staff and consumers cope with this level of uncertainty and change, and maintain confidence in its decisions and actions.
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30 Apr 2020
Uncertain about downloading the new national COVIDSafe app? Health Consumers Queensland’s new COVIDSafe app decision-making guide sets out the benefits, risks and alternatives. You can read this information online on the Decision-making Guide page.* You can also download our FAQs about using COVIDSafe.
The COVID-19 Community of Interest have rapidly provided their views on the app and the proposed guide. Some wanted clearer information (in different languages) and reassurance about security and the protection of their data or whether their phone could even support the app. Others had already downloaded it and considered it was cost-effective and time-efficient. Key concerns included data storage, privacy, security of information, the type of data collected, and how the data is shared.
Their input has enabled us to refine and develop this decision-making guide to assist health consumers and carers with information about using the COVIDSafe app.
Health Consumers Queensland respects the rights of health consumers and carers to make informed decisions about their health.
*We will be updating this page regularly as more information becomes available.
30 Apr 2020
This week we asked members of our COVID-19 Community of Interest: What matters to you when balancing the fear of being infected with the benefits of receiving ongoing care for your health condition? What barriers do we need to overcome in order to confidently shift our approach to utilize this capacity in the health system and feel reassured about the safety of patients and staff? How do we best use the private hospital capacity which is now available?
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16 Apr 2020
The news that we have flattened the curve in Queensland and are not experiencing the anticipated spike in infections and rise in hospital and ICU admissions, is welcome indeed. However, consumers and carers are now facing a further healthcare challenge: grappling with the impact of the lockdown on their ongoing healthcare needs.
Queensland Health is reminding people that hospitals and services are still ‘open’ and regular appointments can be kept. Yet we have heard some people are putting off their routine health care.
This week we asked members of our Consumer Advisory Group, consumer members of the Health Consumer Collaborative of Queensland, the COVID-19 Community of Interest and our followers on Facebook whether they had delayed any of their regular healthcare, if it was clear to them what care is continuing and what is being postponed, and how has this been communicated?
The key issues and concerns which emerged during the conversations included:
- Difficulty in accessing care when in self-isolation.
- Risk of inadvertently causing infection.
- What is open and what is not.
- Too much of a risk to go for routine tests including blood tests or keep appointments with specialists.
- Vulnerable people have been advised to expect to remain in isolation until next year and planned surgeries have been postponed but what about waiting lists after this time.
- The health consequences of waiting and postponing.
- Deciding to put off new knees and hips and get by on steroid injections for the next 12 months.
- Confusion and concern around cancellation of ante-natal classes for new parents-to-be.
- Lack of communication around closure of transplant centres and the impact of this decision on people’s health and these precious resources.
- How do we monitor symptoms and know when to go to hospital.
- There have been no letters or phonecalls despite surgery needing to be done within three months
- The sense of being just left hanging.
- Inconsistencies in information are causing fear and particularly those of mature ages and with co-morbidities.
- Communication methods need to address all levels of health literacy.
- The system is not designed for particular groups or particular conditions. It is not reaching us at a place-based level.
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9 Apr 2020
Planning and decision-making around the public health system response to COVID-19 is urgent and must factor in an ever-changing landscape. Quality consultation with consumers is in high demand and often takes place with less than 24 hours turn-around. These challenges for Health Consumers Queensland and Queensland Health mean we need to work closely together to ensure consumers are brought in at the right time to influence plans, and public-facing communications and directives.
In this week’s eAlert we bring you an update on the latest work with consumers and staff and share how your input is impacting how Queensland Health is supporting and informing Queenslanders around COVID-19.
The importance of the consumer-staff partnership at this time has also been highlighted by John Wakefield, the Director General of Queensland Health. Every week he sends a message to all staff members at Queensland Health and we are grateful to him for allowing us to share an excerpt from his latest message, “Lifting the line”, with our network.
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