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.