Patients, families, and members of the community play an important role in improving the quality of care provided by The Royal Children’s Hospital. Feedback and involvement from our consumers and the community are of great value. There are many different ways you can contribute to high-quality health care at the RCH.

Register your interest in becoming involved at the RCH by filling out this online form.

Who is a healthcare consumer?

All of us are consumers of the Victorian healthcare system at some point in our lives, either directly or indirectly.

The term ‘consumer’ is defined in the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards as 'Patients and potential patients, carers, and organisations representing consumers' interests'.

Why it’s important to involve consumers in healthcare

By involving consumers we:

• gain advice and input from the people who use, or could use our service
• hear about their experiences and expectations
• draw on the expertise and advice from other sectors on ways of improving the service we provide
• improve accountability.

Getting involved

You can become involved at any time by:

• providing ongoing feedback about whether the service is meeting your needs, through consumer feedback systems
• being involved in the development and review of patient brochures and information handouts
• becoming part of hospital committees, including clinical care, risk management, and quality improvement
• telling us your stories and experiences to contribute to our understanding of the care we provide.

You may be a current inpatient, outpatient or parent, carer or family member of a patient.  Even if you've never been a patient, parent or carer of a patient, your input, ideas, and feedback are valuable to us.

Groups you may be interested in joining

Family Advisory Council

The Family Advisory Council (FAC) is a group of parents, carers and hospital staff that works in partnership with the RCH to promote, support and improve patient and family-centred care. The FAC is a busy and enthusiastic team that works in partnership with the hospital and aims to turn patient and family-centred care principles into practice.

The FAC has some useful tips for parents, carers, and families, as members have all been through the hospital experience before. 

To find out more, visit rch.org.au/fac/ or contact us on fac@rch.org.au.

Youth Advisory Council

The Youth Advisory Council (also known as Youth at the Kids, or Y@K) is a group of young people who come together to share ideas and advice about how to make the RCH a better place for all children, young people, families, and staff.

Y@K members are passionate young people, aged between 12 and 20 years old, who use their own experiences of the hospital to help improve the experience others. Members are, or have been, inpatients, outpatients, siblings or friends of patients.

To find out more, visit rch.org.au/yac or contact us on youthatthekids@rch.org.au.

Children’s Cancer Centre Parents Advisory Group

The Children’s Cancer Centre Parent Advisory Group (PAG) is made up of parents or carers of babies, children or adolescents who are or have been, treated for cancer or a haematological disease. 

The PAG team also includes Children’s Cancer Centre staff members who, together with parents and caregivers, work to continually improve the care provided to our children.

To find out more, visit rch.org.au/ccc/contact_us/.

Cystic Fibrosis Family Advisory Council

The Cystic Fibrosis Family Advisory Council (CF FAC) is a group of people who are passionate about the continual improvement of the services provided to children of all ages and adolescents living with Cystic Fibrosis at the RCH. The CF FAC is made up of parents and carers of babies, children or adolescents who have CF, as well as staff representatives from the Cystic Fibrosis Care Team at the RCH.

To find out more, visit rch.org.au/cffac/ or contact us at Cf.Fac@rch.org.au

Mental Health Consumer Reference Group

The Mental Health Consumer Reference Group is made up of parents and carers whose children used the service in the past. Group members draw on their personal experience to give advice on the RCH’s mental health service and comment on new initiatives. The team meets every second month, and meetings are relaxed and have a casual atmosphere. Members receive a small remuneration for their contribution.

To find out more, contact the RCH Mental Health Consumer Consultant on 9345 6011.