In the lead up to organisation wide Accreditation from 24-28 May 2021, each week Northern Health will be focusing on a different Standard. You will hear from the Chairs of each Standard Committees on what you need to know.

This week we spoke to Briana Baass, Executive Director, Chief Allied Health Officer and Partnerships about Standard 2: Partnering with Consumers.

Briana explained that partnering with consumers is our way of ensuring that our patients and their carers are at the centre of all the work that we do.

“Patient and consumer partnerships are key to delivering person-centred care. This care focuses on the relationship between a patient and a clinician, as well as between the broader community and northern health, and recognises the importance of trust, mutual respect and sharing knowledge to deliver the best health outcomes,” she said.

What is this standard about?

Standard 2- Partnering with Consumers is about making sure that our consumers are a partner in their own care and that how our service grows and changes allows us to meet their needs.

This standard is about partnering with consumers at all levels of our work, including: in their own care; at a service level; and at a system level.

At a direct care level it is about getting to know your patients and their preferences and values, meeting their needs and providing them with information that they can understand and use to make decisions about their care.

At a service and system level this is about listening to the voices of our patients and their carers and involving them in the work we do to improve our services.

At Northern Health, this standard looks like….

These examples show the impact of partnering with the consumers on our Consumer Network or the consumers in a local area on:

The patient journey: consumers have provided feedback on the Q-Flow system in Outpatients and influenced the information displayed on the screens and tickets printed.

Building and infrastructure: consumer input has influenced the design of our new ICU and creating a family zone in each ICU bay.

Our strategic direction: a consumer joined the working group that informed our new strategic plan and 500 consumers provided feedback through surveys and focus groups to create our new values.

Our publications: the CLEAR group (consumer group) provides feedback on the patient information Northern Health produces so that they get the consumer tick of approval that they are written in language our community can understand.

Developing our staff: consumers have presented their stories and experiences at training sessions such as the Safe Practice Forum and Refugee and Asylum Seeker Study Day.

What are the top five ways staff can be prepared for Accreditation against this Standard?

1. Involve your patients and their carers in goal setting and care planning and document this on the bedside communication board.
2. Identify the substitute Medical Treatment Decision Maker if a patient does not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves – click here for how to ask (or visit https://intranet.nh.org.au/departments-and-services/advance-care-planning/brochures-forms-documentation/)
3. Provide your patients with the Rights and Responsibilities patient information brochure.
4. Check that your patient understands the information you are providing and encourage patients to provide feedback and act to resolve any problems while they are in your care
5. Wear your name badge and introduce yourself

What are the top five questions staff needs to be able to answer about this Standard?

1. When should a patient be provided with Northern Health’s Healthcare Rights and Responsibilities?
2. How do you partner with patients and carers in care planning and treatment decisions?
3. What do you do if a patient is at risk of not understanding the information you are providing to them?
4. How would you respond to a patient who was dissatisfied with their care?
5. How is Northern Health partnering with consumers in activities to improve our services?

Is there anything else you would like staff to know about this Standard?

This is all about providing person-centred care, like Rebecca experienced – click here to see the video.

Click here to learn more about Standard 2: Partnering with consumers.