Victorian Consumers Participate in Health

Victorian Policy Initiatives in Consumer Participation

Community Participation Policy in Victorian Health Care

For many years the Victorian Department of Human Services has believed in the benefits of consumer participation in health care system and has seen participation as a necessary part of ensuring that health services meet the needs of their communities. A number of policies have been developed in different areas of the health system as a result. In 2004, work began on creating a system-wide strategic policy that covers consumer participation in the Victorian health care system.

A Participate in you Health Service System Policy Reference Committee was established in July 2004 and Consultation Paper - Participation in your Health Service System: Victorian Consumers, Carers, and the Community Working Together with their Health Service and the Department of Human Services was released in March 2005.

On 14 February 2006 the final policy document, Doing It With Us Not for Us was launched along with the Strategic Directions.

To help health service providers with their efforts in consumer participation, Participation Indicators - Participation in your Health Service System: Victorian Consumers, Carers and the Community Working Together with their Health Service and the Department of Human Services was developed by Health Issues Centre. This discussion paper provides a recommended minimum set of performance indicators for consumer participation in acute and sub-acute areas.

Indigenous Health
Aboriginal Primary Health Care in Victoria: Issues for Policy and Regional Planning (2001) looks at how national collaborative frameworks affect the planning of Koori health at State level. It reviews the key policy documents and makes suggestions.

Effective consumer participation and health equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities requires Indigenous peoples and cultures to be represented in all areas of the health system. The Healthy Futures Best Practice Project (2005) sets future targets for Australia. The Healthy Future Report identifies strategies for recruiting and retaining more Indigenous medical students, drawing on the experiences of Indigenous medical students and limited successes in Australia and overseas.

Recognising and Supporting Care Relationships
This document (2006) sets out the policy framework underlying the Victorian Department of HUman Services support for carer participation in informal care. It includes facts and figures about carers in Victoria.

Caring Together
This is an action plan (2006) which aims to improve the participation of carers of people with a mental illness in the planning, development, implementation, delivery and evaluation of public mental health services in Victoria. The plan includes a carer participation policy checklist for services.

Towards a Health Strategy for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Victoria
The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture prepared this report for the Victorian Department of Human Services. It sets out the basis for the development of a state health services strategy for refugees and asylum seekers. The report gives background and statistics on refugee and asylum seeker settlement, programs and services in Victoria, and outlines different health concerns. It also puts human faces on the issues via a series of photographs.

Diversity in Hospitals: Responding to the Needs of Patient and Client Groups from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds (November 2003)
www.ceh.org.au/resources/resbyceh.html
This policy and resource guide from the Centre for Culture Ethnicity and Health is written for hospital managers with the aim of incorporating patient diversity into hospital planning, service provision and quality improvement programs. One of the key policy areas is inclusive consumer participation.

The Public Hospital Patient Charter
www.health.vic.gov.au/patientcharter
This Charter outlines the rights and responsibilities of patients attending a public hospital in Victoria. It aims to support a partnership between patients and their health care providers. Information about the Charter is available in a range of languages, and service providers are encouraged to promote and build on the Charter.