Search Results for: health information

Every patient has a right to know the details of the health care they are receiving.

Doctors should give a clear, concise explanation in non-medical terms of your condition, problem or disease and the proposed treatment or procedures. This way you, the patient, can make an informed decision about the treatment you are about to undergo.
Information provided should include:

• the reason for the proposed treatment
• the risks involved
• the expected benefits
• alternative treatment options
• whether the procedure is irreversible
• the time involved in the procedure
• the likely recovery period
• any costs involved
• any follow up care that may be required

If this information is not provided to you – ask. Discussion of the treatment and material risks should take place sometime before the proposed treatment or procedure. Should proposed treatment not be acceptable to you, you can refuse it.

• You can choose to seek a second opinion of any medical matter you feel unsure about.
• You can have as much time as you need to make your decision. You do not have to say yes immediately after receiving the necessary information.
• Withdrawal of consent or refusal of further treatment is the prerogative of the patient.
• If you require access to your medical records in making your decision, please discuss this with your medical practitioner.
• You also have a right to know the costs involved before the treatment begins; and if you are unable or unwilling to meet the costs of private treatment, you can request a referral to a public hospital facility.
• You should be informed of the hazards and benefits of any drug prescribed for you. All significant side effects should be disclosed.
• Where proposed treatment is experimental or is to be part of medical research, the patient has the right to refuse.

Consent: what it means

No medical service can be carried out unless you, the patient, give permission for the service to proceed.

By consenting, you are exercising control over what happens to your body. It is your decision, therefore it is your responsibility to obtain as much information as you consider necessary. If you do not understand any detail of your condition or the procedures being used or the drugs being administered – ASK MORE QUESTIONS. If you are not sure whether you have been told all the possible risks associated with the treatment you are to receive – ASK “Are there any other ill effects that haven’t been mentioned?”

UNDERSTANDING is crucial to the decision you will make.

Consent in the treatment of minors

A minor (less than 18 years) requires consent from a parent or guardian before treatment can commence, with the exception of emergency or where treatment is of a minor nature. A child can consent to their own treatment as long as they are of sufficient maturity to fully comprehend and understand the consequences (this would be assessed). When a parent or guardian consents to treatment on behalf of a minor, they must be given all relevant information to assist them in their decision making.

Consent from the non-English speaker

Consent should only be given by the non-English speaker after an interpreter has been called in and when the patient is satisfied that enough information has been given to make an informed decision. The interpreter should preferably be someone who is familiar with medical terminology and medical procedures and practice.

Consent in emergencies

Where urgent treatment is required to save a patient’s life or prevent harm to his or her health and the patient is not able to consent to the required treatment at the time (for example because the patient is unconscious), the patient is deemed to have consented.

Experimental drugs or procedures

A patient has a legal right to be informed before subjecting themselves to experimental treatment or care. This includes experimental drugs, procedures or therapy. Should students of medicine request to view any procedure, examination or treatment, it is the patient’s right to refuse if they so desire.

What the consent form asks

• Your written consent to one or more specific procedures or treatments.
• Consent to “any other procedure considered necessary”. This usually refers to surgical treatment that was unforseen at the outset of an operation or additional treatment, that was deemed necessary.
• An acknowledgement by you, the patient, that the “nature intended effects and possible unintended effects” of the procedure have been fully explained.
• Consent to someone other than your usual doctor performing the procedure.
• A witness signature by you.

The information provided on this website is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

If you have concerns regarding your condition, please consult your healthcare professional without delay. The Health Consumer Council disclaims responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property.

We hope the information contained within our website will answer some of your questions. For more information you can contact the Health Consumers’ Council on (08) 9221 3422 or Freecall 1800 620 780.

Links to or from other websites

The Health Consumers’ Council may provide links to other websites which meet criteria consistent with its website links policy.

These links are provided for convenience and are not an endorsement by the Health Consumers’ Council of the organisation or individual operating the website, or a warranty of any type regarding the website or the information on it. The opinions and recommendations contained in linked websites are not necessarily those of the Health Consumers’ Council.

Older health consumers often experience a stigma relating to their time of life that may reflect an inappropriate community bias that values youth over age.

Stigma relating to older age can be expressed in a health care setting as an assumption of feeble-mindedness, reference to family before the individual, lack of respect for a person’s time or daily routines, privacy and modesty, and provision of limited information about treatments and treatment options. 

Older health consumers have the right to request the following rights of health service providers:
Older Health Consumers:

• have a right to be valued and respected and consideration given to their diverse social, religious, political and cultural backgrounds
• have a right to participate in decision making and make informed choices about their treatment, care and on going well being
• have a right to quality treatment on the basis of need
• have a right to comprehensive and accessible information about their diagnosis, health condition, treatment options and prognosis in a language they can understand
• have a right to refuse treatment and have their rights respected if they choose to have no medical or surgical interventions to prolong their lives, but still reserve the right to receive those treatments which enhance their comfort, dignity and controls pain
• have a right to privacy and dignity in respect to personal modesty
• have a right to be treated in a similar manner to other health consumers, in terms of language and behaviour, regardless of their age
• have a right to make a complaint about a health service and have that complaint treated with respect, without fear of retribution and resolved within an acceptable timeframe
• have a right to the involvement of a care-worker, where appropriate, in their care-plan
• have a right to consideration with respect with regard to appointments and associated waiting times, so that they are attended to promptly for the benefit of both the patient and the carer

YOUR RIGHTS – CONSENT TO MEDICAL TREATMENT

Every patient has a right to know the details of the health care/medical treatment they are receiving.

Doctors should give a clear, concise explanation in non-medical terms of your condition, problem or disease and the proposed treatment or procedures. This way you, the patient, can make an informed decision about the treatment you are about to undergo.
Information provided should include:

– the reason for the proposed treatment

– the risks involved

– the expected benefits

– alternative treatment options

– whether the procedure is irreversible

– the time involved in the procedure

– the likely recovery period

– any costs involved

-any follow up care that may be required

If this information is not provided to you – ask. Discussion of the treatment and material risks should take place sometime before the proposed treatment or procedure.
Should proposed treatment not be acceptable to you, you can refuse it.

You can choose to seek a second opinion of any medical matter you feel unsure about.
You can have as much time as you need to make your decision. You do not have to say yes immediately after receiving the necessary information.

Withdrawal of consent or refusal of further treatment is the prerogative of the patient.
If you require access to your medical records in making your decision, please discuss this with your medical practitioner.

You also have a right to know the costs involved before the treatment begins; and if you are unable or unwilling to meet the costs of private treatment, you can request a referral to a public hospital facility.

You should be informed of the hazards and benefits of any drug prescribed for you. All significant side effects should be disclosed.

Where proposed treatment is experimental or is to be part of medical research, the patient has the right to refuse.

Consent: what it means

No medical service can be carried out unless you, the patient, give permission for the service to proceed.

By consenting, you are exercising control over what happens to your body. It is your decision, therefore it is your responsibility to obtain as much information as you consider necessary. If you do not understand any detail of your condition or the procedures being used or the drugs being administered – ASK MORE QUESTIONS. If you are not sure whether you have been told all the possible risks associated with the treatment you are to receive – ASK “Are there any other ill effects that haven’t been mentioned?”

UNDERSTANDING is crucial to the decision you will make.

Consent in the treatment of minors

A minor (less than 18 years) requires consent from a parent or guardian before treatment can commence, with the exception of emergency or where treatment is of a minor nature. A child can consent to their own treatment as long as they are of sufficient maturity to fully comprehend and understand the consequences (this would be assessed). When a parent or guardian consents to treatment on behalf of a minor, they must be given all relevant information to assist them in their decision making.

Consent from the non-English speaker

Consent should only be given by the non-English speaker after an interpreter has been called in and when the patient is satisfied that enough information has been given to make an informed decision. The interpreter should preferably be someone who is familiar with medical terminology and medical procedures and practice.

Consent in emergencies

Where urgent treatment is required to save a patient’s life or prevent harm to his or her health and the patient is not able to consent to the required treatment at the time (for example because the patient is unconscious), the patient is deemed to have consented.

Experimental drugs or procedures

A patient has a legal right to be informed before subjecting themselves to experimental treatment or care. This includes experimental drugs, procedures or therapy. Should students of medicine request to view any procedure, examination or treatment, it is the patient’s right to refuse if they so desire.

What the consent form asks

Your written consent to one or more specific procedures or treatments.

Consent to “any other procedure considered necessary”. This usually refers to surgical treatment that was unforseen at the outset of an operation or additional treatment, that was deemed necessary.

An acknowledgement by you, the patient, that the “nature intended effects and possible unintended effects” of the procedure have been fully explained.

Consent to someone other than your usual doctor performing the procedure.

A witness signature by you.

Questions a patient might like to ask

– What’s wrong with me?

– Exactly what type of procedure or treatment are you proposing?

– Is there any alternative treatment?

– How long will the procedure take?

– Is it experimental?

– How much will this proceudure cost? Will my health fund cover the cost?

– What drugs will I be given and what effect will they have?

– How long will I be unwell/unable to work?

– Can I have a second opinion?

– If I sign this – what am I agreeing to?

– Can you explain everything again in terms that I can understand?

Health Consumer Connect is our monthly newsletter. It includes HCC events and updates, as well as events, news, and information that may be of interest to health consumers, carers, people with lived experience, and those working in health services.

Read previous editions of Health Consumer Connect (previously known as Health Consumers’ Council eNews) HERE.

Click here to read issues previous to June 2022.

2017

Submission from health consumers councils across Australia into the Number of women in Australia who have had transvaginal mesh implants and related matters

This submission was prepared by Dr Martin Whitely, Manager Policy and Research Health Consumers’ Council (WA) with substantial assistance from Carolyn Chisholm from the Australian Pelvic Mesh Support Group, Danny Vadasz of Health Issues Centre (Victoria) and Melissa Fox, CEO of Health Consumers Queensland. The survey cited in this paper was conducted by the Health Issues Centre (Victoria).

Submission to the Therapeutic Goods Administration consultation on the use of comparable overseas regulators for the regulation of medical devices

Prepared by Dr Martin Whitely Manager of Policy and Research

Submission on Therapeutic Goods Amendment Bill 2016

Prepared by Dr Martin Whitely Manager of Policy and Research

Understanding advocacy practice in mental health a multidimensional scalogram analysis of case records

Study conducted in partnership with Murdoch University, School of Health Professions, Murdoch and Health Consumers’ Council, East Perth, Australia. Paper written in 2015 and 2016 published in 2017.

Written by Paul Morrison, Norman Stomski, Martin Whitely and Pip Brennan

Advocacy processes in mental health a qualitative study

Study conducted in partnership with Murdoch University, School of Health Professions, Murdoch and Health Consumers’ Council, East Perth, Australia. Paper written in 2015 and 2016 published in 2017.

Written by Norman Stomski, Paul Morrison, Martin Whitely, and Pip Brennan

2014

Regulating Pharmaceuticals in Australia – Reforms needed to deliver Transparency and Safety

Prepared by Dr Martin Whitely Manager of Policy and Research

Establishing National Priorities for Clinical Practice Guidelines in Australia

Dr Ann Jones and Dr Martin Whitely made a submission on behalf of the HCC to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care regarding Australian disease treatment guideline development.  The submission recommended that before any topics are prioritised for guideline development, there needs to be standardised processes to ensure the integrity of guidelines.  The submission stressed the need for transparency, and independent robust evidence in guideline development processes.

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Submission

Licensing and Subsidising Pharmaceuticals in Australia – Reforms needed to deliver Transparency, Safety and Value for Money

Prepared by Dr Martin Whitely Manager of Policy and Research

Transcript of Senate Select Committee on Health Hearing – Licensing and Subsidising Pharmaceuticals in Australia

Dr Martin Whitely and Dr Ann Jones gave evidence at a Senate Select Committee on Health on 10 October 2014.  Their appearance before the committee was to provide further information on the HCC submission to the Committee on the need for reforms to the way pharmaceuticals are regulated.  Martin was also able to expand on concerns that the PBS and TGA often act in the best interest of pharmaceutical companies at the expense of health consumers.

For a full transcript of the hearing click on the link.

Mental Health Bill 2013 Submission

PATS Submission

A Game changer for consumer feedback

You can provide feedback on your WA hospital experience – good or bad RIGHT NOW on a moderated, online platform. This independent platform is on www.careopinion.org.au 

It is simple to use – and you remain anonymous while the service is identified. Once posted your story will be responded to by the service within 72 hours, for all to see. Responses are seen by many staff but also the Minister for Health, the Health Service Boards etc also see these stories. If there is a change made because of your story, that gets posted up too.

Care Opinion FAQs

WA and Care Opinion

WA is the first state to have every single public hospital as a subscriber to this nation-wide website. This means that your story will be promptly read and responded to – the usual response time is within 72 hours of it being posted. There is a Care Opinion dashboard that WA Health hosts to track the uptake and implementation. We can say as independent advocates that it is changing they way our health services listen and respond to patient feedback. In 2020 the platform was renamed Care Opinion, and combined both the Patient Opinion and Care Opinion platforms into one, which provides one entry point for WA people to provide feedback on health and social care services. The possibilities for expansion are obvious – people accessing NDIS services, aged care, disability etc. etc. – all of these could be reached more easily by consumers and carers.

The Care Opinion in WA Impact Report FY20-21 provides a snapshot of how the platform was used during the financial year.

Health Consumers’ Council is a passionate advocate for the Care Opinion platform. Care Opinion is an independent, moderated platform used nationwide and was launched in Australia in 2012. It originates from the UK and is managed by passionate not for profit professionals in the UK and Australia, with the mission of enabling “people to be able to share their experiences of health and care in ways which are safe, simple, and lead to learning and change.”

Care Opinion  allows people to share their stories, good and bad about their experience in health and human services. The Care Opinion staff moderate stories before posting them, and ensure that both parties are supported to have a positive, effective safety and quality discussion. Care Opinion Australia asks the health service to respond to the feedback you share, and supports them in that process. The data remains yours – should you later wish to remove your story, you can. It is published under what is known as a creative commons licence. Care Opinion works on a subscription basis, with services purchasing a licence to use it.

Sustainable Health Review and Care Opinion

The Sustainable Health Review ‘s Recommendation Four commits to new approaches to support citizen and community partnership in the design, delivery and evaluation of sustainable health and social care services and reported outcomes

One of the identified activities is the expansion of Care Opinion which can mean a number of things:

• More stories on the platform
• More frontline and lower level management staff providing responses to stories
• Expansion into WA’s social care sector

Care Opinion Virtual Q&A Event 1st June – Scotland and Care Opinion

This Q&A Panel focused on practical insights from the experience of implementing the Care Opinion tool across Scotland’s health and social care services, from implementation to maintenance over the longer term. Prof Jason Leitch CBE is Scottish Government’s National Clinical Director of Quality & Improvement. He was joined by Shaun Maher who is Principal Lead, Quality Improvement team, NHS Education for Scotland and Strategic Adviser for Person-Centred Care and Improvement, Healthcare Quality and Strategy. Jason and Shaun shared their reflections on how embedding this tool has helped underpin a person centred health and social care system, as well as providing real life examples of the challenges and opportunities of Care Opinion.

At Care Opinion Australia’s inaugural virtual Conference held on 27th April 2021 during Patient Experience Week, Prof. Jason Leitch CBE noted that:

Care Opinion is the most important thing the Scottish Government has done for patient-centred care in the last 10 years.

He based his statement on the platform’s technical functionality and relational method of safely linking staff, system, patients and families in a way that lets organisations know what is working and what isn’t. This Q&A Panel focused on practical insights from the experience of implementing the Care Opinion tool across Scotland’s health and social care services, from implementation to maintenance over the longer term. Jason and Shaun shared their reflections on how embedding this tool has helped underpin a person centred health and social care system, and provided real life examples of the challenges and opportunities of Care Opinion.

Consumer Experience of Care Opinion

Watch this 8 minute video of Amelia explaining how she used the tool to create positive change in our health services (starts at .55 – video runs 8.5 minutes)

This service is not related to the Health Consumers’ Council. If you click one of the Care Opinion links below, you will be leaving the Health Consumers’ Council website.

For more information about Care Opinion visit www.careopinion.org.au.

We offer you a range of different workshops to support you in your journey to becoming an effective, engaged consumer representative. We also support health care staff through our workshops to develop skills, awareness and strategies for engaging with health consumers. Some of our workshops provide points towards active learning hours for nursing staff.

Upcoming EVENTS!

Upcoming workshops

• Acknowledging Country Workshop – developed to support people to think about, design and confidently deliver a meaningful Acknowledgment.
  • Online via Zoom, join us from anywhere in the country
  • Held once a month

• Health consumer, carer & community networking – a networking opportunity and a chance to update on what we are seeing in the health system for all consumers, carers and community members working with the health system as representatives, advisors and similar.

  • The most recent session was in March 2024.
  • We’re working on the plans for the next event and will publish these soon.
  • It will be a hybrid event – join online or in-person
  • Contact us at events@hconc.org.au to register your interest

• Introduction to Consumer Representation Training – Consumer Representatives play an integral role in the Australian health care system. They provide vital information and ideas from a service user’s perspective, to health services and government committees. This introductory course will help you get started on your Consumer Representative journey.

  • The most recent workshops were in March 2024.
  • We’re working on the plans for the next session and will publish these soon.
  • Contact us at events@hconc.org.au to register your interest

Find out more about these events:

Consumer, Carer, Family and Community Representative Networking

Find out more about this network here.

Click here to sign up to our mailing list to be kept informed.

Consumer Representative Training

Introduction to Consumer Representation

These sessions are run approximately every 6 months.

If you have any questions about these sessions please email info@hconc.org.au

Consumer  Leadership Academy (previously Advanced Consumer Representation Training)

The next Consumer Leadership Academy learning session will be held in 2024. Stay tuned for all the details!

If you have any questions about the Consumer Leadership Academy, please email info@hconc.org.au

Cultural diversity

Diversity Dialogues

The Diversity Dialogues seminar series has been developed by HCC for consumers and health service providers to explore ways to develop hospital services and patient care strategies that respond to cultural diversity.  Diversity Dialogues comprise a panel discussion where the panelists are from a range of cultural backgrounds, who share their knowledge and experiences around culturally aware practice, building culturally inclusive services and discussing the importance of cultural awareness in best practice.  More information about Diversity Dialogues can be found here. 

Please email info@hconc.org.au to be added to our mailing list for future events.

Training for health service staff

Supporting Cultural Diversity in Healthcare 

Western Australia enjoys one of the most culturally diverse populations in Australia. To assist healthcare workers and providers to deliver services that are equitable, Health Consumers’ Council has developed this workshop to enable health workers to provide culturally inclusive services that support patient-centered care.  The workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to deliver a culturally competent service.  Workshop duration – 3 hours.

2024 details will be available soon.

Workshops on partnering and engagement with consumers – for health service staff

If you would like us to present to a group of staff in your health services, please contact info@hconc.org.au 

There may be a fee for this.

Watch the recordings

Introduction to using Zoom and online meetings

In light of social distancing measures , and the need for people to take part in online meetings, we ran a couple of workshops in 2020 to introduce consumer representatives to some of the features of online meetings, and the Zoom platform in particular.

You can access the recordings of those sessions here, as well as the slides that were used.

• Overview of online meetings and an introduction to Zoom
  • Recording of the session
  • Slides from the session
• Overview of hosting online meetings using Zoom
  • Recording of the session
  • Slides from the session

Consumer, carer, community and family representative drop-in sessions

While WA was under physical distancing restrictions, we heard that opportunities for health consumer, carer, community and family representatives to connect with each other, with the health system and with organisations like us were even more important.

So we hosted a regular “drop-in” session. See below for links to recording of these sessions.

Previous drop-in sessions

• Date: Friday 12 June 2022
• Theme: How consumer input helped shape the WA Healthy Weight Action Plan and what comes next
• Watch the recording (approx 38 mins) https://youtu.be/jihBv_QeoTU
• View the slides WA Healthy Weight Action Plan 2019 – 2024

• Date: Friday 29 May 2022
• Theme: Engaging consumers in a conversation about reducing unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures – we’ll hear from the team at the Choosing Wisely program
• Watch the recording (approx. 1h15m) https://youtu.be/wNQee63N3ds and view the slides

• Date: Friday 15 May 2022
• Theme: Engaging community members in Advance Care Planning and National Palliative Care Week
• Watch the recording (1h 15m) https://youtu.be/5fKOLobaWqg
• Date: Friday 1 May
• Theme: Consumer, carer, family and community engagement in primary care
• Watch the recording (32 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynJGYFNiZOw

• Date: Friday 17  April 2022
• Theme: Consumer and community involvement in COVID-19 medical research
• Watch the recording (25 mins) https://youtu.be/X0usiIGQo3U and view the slides https://www.hconc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CCHRN-slides-HCC-Consumer-Rep-Drop-in-presentation-200417.pdf 

HCC is the WA Peak Independent Health Consumer Organisation. There are usually a number of policies, consultations and reform agendas happening at state and local level, and this page aims to track key policies and reforms that are being worked on by HCC.  This page aims to keep track of:

• current strategies/drafts/consultations/policies HCC is responding to/are open for consumer feedback
• current partnerships & collaborations
• current campaigns we are supporting
• current issues we are commenting on publicly

Position Statements/Public Comments

We have been reviewing and developing Position Statements on a range of issues. Please contact us with any queries as we are aware that this resource-intensive activity could always be improved.

See current Position Statements here

See most recent blog posts here

See Media Releases here

Current items open for response:

Want to find more? Check out the State and Federal consultation pages below:

Current Partnerships:

Coming soon!

Current Campaigns we are involved with:

The Health Consumers’ Council have officially partnered in supporting the “Racism. It Stops With Me” Campaign. We are committed to anti-racism and are beginning this journey internally, through completing the Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool, developing recommendations and a plan around internal development, and then reaching into the community for systemic advocacy focused on health with an emphasis on anti-racism in action and highlighting living experience and expertise.

Racism. It Stops With Me is a national anti-racism campaign of the Australian Human Rights Commission. It is one of many campaigns and initiatives working to increase awareness of racism, and equip more Australians with tools to address it.

The Racism. It Stops With Me website provides information on the campaign and resources to support learning about and action against racism.

Other campaigns we are supporting:

Consumers Health Forum

The Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) is the national peak organization representing Australian health consumers and their local organizations. With over a hundred organizations in its membership, including the Health Consumers’ Council of Western Australia as a voting member, CHF has overall responsibility for coordinating national policy and promoting the interests of Australian health consumers.

Rather than duplicate the work of CHF in producing policy documents, HCC coordinates the contribution of W.A. consumers, both groups and individuals, to the development of health policy and planning, research and health service delivery, through education, advocacy, dissemination of information and through facilitating consumer participation.

For more information about the CHF, or to access or order copies of CHF policy publications, such as position statements, submissions and information papers, please go to the CHF website: www.chf.org.au.