Better Together

012. Better Together, with guests Bethany Pade & Jenny Gilder

This episode of Better Together features Hawkesbury District Hospital General Manager Bethany Pade and longtime consumer representative Jenny Gilder discussing the hospital’s recent transition into Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District and the work of the Hawkesbury Hospital Engagement Committee (HEC). In conversation with hosts Matt Roger and Dominic Santangelo, Bethany and Jenny explore how stronger partnerships between staff, consumers and the community are driving service improvements, shaping patient safety initiatives, strengthening local advocacy, and ensuring the hospital and its services remain “people first” in healthcare delivery.

011. Better Together, with guest Brad Astill

In this episode, our host Matt Roger sits down with Brad Astill to get his insights into consumer engagement as the recently appointed Chief Executive for Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD). We explore Brad’s experiences in health management, lessons about consumer engagement, and how consumer lived experience shapes the District’s strategic vision. Brad provides his thoughts on how collaboration between consumer representatives and health workers can help improve health outcomes by delivering exceptional patient care. We also explore strategies that are beneficial for staff to learn from, and engage with, different patient/consumer groups from multicultural, disability and diversity backgrounds in a safe and supported way. Brad shares his perspective on how doctors and other health care workers can better engage with patients and their families in service planning and policy development. We reflect on some of the barriers and challenges to meaningful consumer engagement, and the ways to overcome those challenges and barriers so that consumers, patients and their families become better involved in their own health care journey, particularly through the expansion of virtual care capabilities. Brad provides a crystal ball view of what consumer engagement models in Health might look like in 2030 (five years away). Finally, we celebrate some success in consumer engagement in a health initiative that had a positive impact on patient health outcomes or service delivery.

010. Better Together, with guests Dr Shantel Duffy & Kelly Thompson

In this episode, our host Matt Roger sits down with Dr Shantel Duffy (Manager, Research Governance and Development at NBMLHD), and Kelly Thompson (Director of Research Operations at NBMLHD) to discuss the roles that consumers can and should play in health and medical research. In 2016, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and The Consumers Health Forum of Australia Ltd (CHF) released the Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research [https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/node/2691] (the Statement). The Statement's purpose is to guide research institutions, researchers, consumers and community members in the active involvement of consumers and community members in all aspects of health and medical research. The NHMRC understands the importance of engaging with consumers and the community on its role and activities, whilst also providing leadership and guidance to the health and medical research sector on the meaningful engagement of consumers throughout all stages of research and health care. Consumer voices often say “Nothing about us without us’. This phrase supports the idea that those who are affected by research have a right to influence what is researched and how this is done. To that end, we outline four levels of health and medical research codesign. We reflect on some of the barriers and challenges to meaningful consumer engagement in health and medical research, and the ways to overcome those challenges and barriers so that consumers, patients and their families can become better involved in health and medical research.    As research relies on a lot of sensitive patient data, we discuss the governance mechanisms to maintain the security and confidentiality of that data. Shantel and Karen also provide their thoughts on the use of Artificial Intelligence in health and medical research. Finally, we celebrate some success in consumer engagement in a health and medical research project that had a positive impact on patient health outcomes and service delivery due to the engagement of consumers. Read NBMLHD's Research Strategy and Implementation Plan here: https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-10/nbmlhd-research-strategy-2022-2025.pdf [https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-10/nbmlhd-research-strategy-2022-2025.pdf]

009. Better Together, with guest Peter Collins

Our host Matt Roger and NBMLHD Board Chair Peter Collins talk all things consumer engagement at the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District.

008. Better Together, with Karen Alexander

In this episode our host Matt Roger sits down with Karen Alexander (Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District Disability and National Disability Insurance Scheme Manager). Like everyone else, people with disability want to live their best life, with access to all areas of life including education, employment, health care, housing, justice, love, and relationships. Disability is a part of being human. Disability results from the interaction between health conditions, environmental and personal factors. Everyone is different, and disability can be visible or invisible.   Having an equitable health system that supports the healthcare needs of all people regardless of disability is an important consideration in service planning, service delivery and policy development. Karen offers her perspective on what “inclusive health care” means to her and her role in the District, and the social and medical model lenses of looking at disability. We reflect on barriers to meaningful consumer engagement identified in research outcomes that tend to indicate that people with disability have poorer self-reported physical and mental health, higher rates of chronic conditions and poorer access to health services.   Launched in 2023, we discuss the District’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan and what it means for patients, consumers and staff. Building on that Action Plan, we reflect on the role of the District’s Disability Consumer Council supporting ways that people with living with a disability (and their families) can overcome those challenges and barriers to become better involved in their own health care journey.   We explore the ways that doctors and other health care workers can better engage with those patients living with the challenges of a disability and their families in service planning and policy development.   We also celebrate a recent disability health initiative that had a positive impact on patient health outcomes.   Finally, we provide an overview of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Karen’s role in assisting patients transition from hospital-based care to National Disability Insurance Scheme funded services and supports.