December 2015

Launch of the first national healthcare atlas

The Hon. Sussan Ley, Australian Minister for Health, has launched the first national healthcare atlas. The atlas presents a clear picture of substantial variation in healthcare use across Australia in such areas as antibiotic prescribing, surgical, mental health and diagnostic services.

Understanding this variation is critical to improving the quality, value and appropriateness of health care.

For more information and to download the Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation, visit the ACSQHC website.

CHF's Chief Executive Officer, Leanne Wells, said "The Atlas on Healthcare Variation [launched today] shows stark differences in treatment practices and represents a watershed for health care in Australia, bringing to light important evidence hitherto hidden from consumers" Read CHF media release.

Personal and consumer stories

When MS came, my husband asked to stay

Just three months after Melinda Zanello met her future husband, she was diagnosed with the progressive brain and spinal cord disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She had no idea what it might mean, so gave him the option to leave.

How my mind came back to life — and no one knew

After contracting a brain infection, Martin Pistorius lost his ability to control his movements and to speak, and eventually he failed every test for mental awareness. He had become a ghost.

But then a strange thing started to happen — his mind began to knit itself back together. In this moving talk, Pistorius tells how he freed himself from a life locked inside his own body.

Losing our boy

Far beyond the Hospital’s double glazing, Christmas climaxed all over the country. Wrapped around each other we drowned on the 23rd floor. Read Alex Catron's heartrending and uplifting tale of losing one of his twins soon after birth.

Near-death experience changes surfer's life

Stories of near death experiences are often linked to long white corridors, silence and memories. We don't always hear the story of recovery. Liz Keen writes how Chris Hewgill's near-death experience changed him in the most profound way.

News and current affairs

At a time of “reform fatigue”, some timely advice for improving primary healthcare

“Reform fatigue” was how one delegate at #HSR15 described the syndrome affecting the Primary Health Care sector in Australia.

Moving from Divisions of General Practice to Medicare Locals to Primary Health Networks in the space of five years or less, this sector has experienced more than its fair share of change, as the organisation, governance arrangements and expectations of ‘primary health care meta-organisations’ have shifted in response to changing government priorities.

Some level of cynicism about the benefits of these changes was evident in the presentations at #HSR15 (one was titled ‘Old Wine in New Bottles’!).

However, there was also a degree of optimism about the future of the new Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and an interest in exploring the Australian and international evidence to support their role in improving outcomes in primary health care.

One popular session focused on PHN governance arrangements and provided a number of different perspectives on how these new organisations could benefit from the findings of recent research in this area.

Read more

Calling for greater involvement of consumers and carers in mental health reform

Dave deBronkart – who is probably better known as e-patient Dave – was a visiting professor in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in the US this year, on the basis of his own experience with illness.

He wrote earlier this year in the BMJ that the internet is enabling the rise of a new progressive social movement of informed patients, exemplified by the Society for Participatory Medicine and the annual Stanford Medicine X conference.

This movement, he says, represents autonomy, emancipation, and self determination, and is leading to “a shift in roles as profound as women’s liberation, racial equality, gay rights, and disability rights”.

How widely is this movement reaching into policy making in Australia?

In the article below, Melissa Sweet reports on Senator Katy Gallagher, the Shadow Minister for Mental Health, and her response to the recent developments in mental health reform which suggest that consumer and carer input is not being maximised.

Read full article

See also:

- Article from The Conversation
- CHF media release
- Opinion piece, ABC News - The Drum

Patients fund the research they want

A group of scientists have launched a crowd-sourcing project to fund research into using anti-malarial drugs to address colorectal cancer.

Scientists at St George’s, University of London, and St George’s Hospital have already exceeded their target of £50,000 from more than 300 backers.

Local care the way to go to fight addiction

The injection of $241 million into Primary Health Networks to provide a fresh, community-based response for prevention and treatment of drug and alcohol addiction is a positive recognition of the potential of locally-led health services, the Consumers Health Forum says. Read full media release

Revealing snapshot of health spend trends

With a swathe of government reviews underway into health spending and funding, and conflict over the supremacy of primary vs tertiary care, Croakey's summary of AIHW figures on expenditure by sector makes for interesting reading.

Medicine's F Word: Fail

The F word (fail) is everywhere in medicine. It’s used when professionals are talking about patients who are in trouble or are dying, when they describe a treatment that has not worked, or when a patient has experienced a set back. Fail implies that patient is to blame. Suzanne Gordon talks about the importance of language when it comes to patient-centred care.

Have your say

Invitation to provide feedback on obsolete MBS items

The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce is examining the more than 5,700 services listed in the MBS.

A number of MBS items have been identified by the Clinical Committees as obsolete. That is, these items or services which have no clinical purpose in contemporary practice, the services identified are better covered under other items, or the items are no longer used for the purpose for which they were introduced. Information about these items is in the ‘Obsolete MBS items – Tranche #1’ consultation document.

·         Diagnostic Imaging Clinical Committee: 58706, 58924, 59503, 59715, 59736, 59760, 61465,
·         Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgery Clinical Committee: 11321, 18246, 41680, 41695, 41758, 41761,
41846, 41849, 41852
·         Gastroenterology Clinical Committee: 13500, 13503, 30493, 32078, 32081
·         Obstetrics Clinical Committee: 16504
·         Thoracic Medicine Clinical Committee: 11500

You are invited to provide feedback to the Taskforce using the Citizen Space online consultation tool. Feedback is especially sought from those who may claim the MBS items identified as obsolete.

Feedback is open until Monday 8 February, 2016. We encourage you to pass this onto your networks.

If you have any questions or queries on the Review or the work of the Taskforce, please contact the MBS Review Team: mbsreviews@health.gov.au / 02 6289 4078.

Patient Blood Management Guidelines Review

The National Blood Authority (NBA) has commenced a review of the Patient Blood Management Guidelines: Module 1 – Critical Bleeding/Massive Transfusion. The updated document is intended to assist and guide health-care professionals in making clinical decisions when managing patients with critical bleeding who require, or are likely to require, massive transfusion.

We have engaged a number of experts for the Clinical/Consumer Reference Group (CRG) and are now seeking to engage the following expertise to contribute to the review and update process:

Consumer representation
Clinical or research expertise in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander setting
Clinical expertise in a military setting
Representation for those patients in whom transfusion is not an option.

Successful applicants will be required to contribute to the development of the revised content by advising the CRG of any emerging issues in their field of expertise and reviewing the evidence and draft content to ensure that it meets the needs of the groups they represent. For those without clinical expertise, guidance will be provided by another CRG member.

If you are interested in participating, please review the background information and complete the expression of interest form located here.

Completed applications should be forwarded to Ms Donna Cassoni at guidelines@blood.gov.au by Friday 22 January, 2016.

Resources and events

Make your pledge for Change Day. 16 March, 2016.

Change Day is a social movement that invites the health and community care workforce across Australia to make a pledge to do one thing to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals; communities and the Australian health and community care system as a whole.

Change Day invites you to be a change-maker in health, aged care and community services right across Australia.

It’s easy to get caught up believing that change needs to start somewhere else. We can end up waiting for someone else to ‘fix’ things or waiting for someone to give us permission to be amazing, or even just to do what we know need to be done.

Don’t wait any longer! Where ever you are and whatever your role is in health and community care: you can make a difference.

In its first year more than 15,000 pledges were gathered from across Australia and in 2016 the goal is to collect 50,000 pledges. We hope your pledge will be one of those.

Make a pledge now

Health Consumer Representative Training – registrations now open for April 2016

Health Consumers NSW is holding its next round of health consumer representative training on Thursdays 21 and 28 April, 2016.

This two-day program introduces the concepts and practises of consumer engagement in the NSW health system and is facilitated by two experienced leaders in the field. It is designed for health consumer representatives, both experienced and new, who are engaged with Local Health Districts, Primary Health Networks, or Public or Private Hospitals and health related NGOs.

Visit our training page for more information or register now!

Carer Gateway is a new national online and phone service that provides practical information and resources to support carers. It also features an interactive service finder to help carers connect to local support services. A great place to start for support and services - call 1800422737 Monday to Friday, between 8.00am - 6.00pm or visit www.carergateway.gov.au.

Caring for Country Kids Conference - 17 - 19 April, 2016

Children’s Healthcare Australasia (CHA) and the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) are joining forces to host a national Conference on quality healthcare for children and young people living in rural, regional and remote communities across Australia.

This unique Conference will showcase innovations, models, programs and activities that enhance the health and wellbeing of infants, children and young people in rural and remote Australia.

The two-day event, will offer learning and networking opportunities to a wide cross-section of public and private sector healthcare providers, consumers, policy makers and researchers involved with the health and wellbeing of children in rural and remote areas.

For more information and to view the program, visit www.countrykids.org.au.

New Resource: A guide to Advanced Care Planning for people with Mental Illness

A new resource about Advance Care Planning for End of Life for People with Mental Illness is now available. The guide was developed by the NSW Ministry of Health with input from mental health consumers.

This resource explains what Advance Care Planning for End of Life Care is about and what the process involves. A key message is that Advance Care Planning is important for everyone, and it is best to start the planning process early, rather than waiting till the person becomes unwell. Read more and download the guide.

The first ever Australasia-Pacific Post-Polio Conference – “Polio: Life Stage Matters” – to be held in Sydney on 20-22 September 2016, will facilitate better care and build international connections by bringing together health care providers, researchers, polio survivors, their caregivers and patient organisation representatives not only from the Australasia-Pacific region, but worldwide.

The aim of the Conference is to exchange knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of the post-polio condition in different age groups to best preserve functioning throughout life.

The Conference will provide sessions for both polio survivors and health care providers, emphasising research results and gold standard evidence-based clinical practice. Since care for polio survivors involves many different disciplines, the Conference will target professionals in the fields of rehabilitation medicine, virology, neurology, orthopaedic surgery, allied health, and students in these areas.

For full information and to register, visit the Polio Australia website.

I want paper

Would you prefer to receive The Wrap as a printed hard-copy via post? Or do you know someone who would like to read it but doesn't have email?

If so, please write to us - info@hcnsw.org.au or HCNSW, Suite 3 / Level 8, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000 - and we will send you a printed version of The Wrap going forward.

Did you know you can book us for training that meets your needs?

Health Consumers NSW runs individualised training courses for health services interested in supporting their consumer representatives to be the best they can be. The training is also useful for staff to understand how to engage the community and consumer representatives and fulfill Standard 2 obligations. Contact us on 02 9986 1082 or info@hcnsw.org.au to make a booking.

Research and academics

AIHW Hospitals Report

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) have released their latest report on hospitals in Australia. In 2013-14 there were 9.7 million hospitalisations in 748 public hospitals and 612 private hospitals. Around 40% of care was provided for consumers over 65 years of age. One in five hospitalisations involved surgery, while one in four were emergency admissions. The most common principal diagnoses were:

· Cancer (616,000) · Circulatory (481,000)
· Injury and poisoning (624,000) · Musculoskeletal (521,000)
· Respiratory (408,000) · Genitourinary (457,000)
· Digestive system (978,000) · Eyes (349,000)
· Childbirth (295,000) · Mental/behavioural (382,000)

Read more in this interesting report

NSW hospital patient surveys

The Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Snapshot Report, based on a survey of 27,000 patients who went to a NSW public hospital in 2014, showed that most patients were generally positive about their experiences.

A second BHI report, Patient Perspectives, draws on the survey results of 6,500 patients with cancer who were admitted to a NSW public hospital during the period July 2013 to July 2014.

A snaphot from our twittersphere...

4 Dec - Health Consumers NSW @HCNSW
Celebrate @PatientSolDay Dec5. Whether in NSW,New York or New Guinea, healthcare should be a human right for everyone

Retweets by Health Consumers NSW

18 Dec - Health Consumers NSW @HCNSW
New website for healthcare professionals caring for people nearing the end of their life http://bit.ly/1QnDP2Q

21 Dec - Health Consumers NSW @HCNSW

HepC decision by @sussanley great news for patients & all Australians, reminder of value of universal health system. http://ow.ly/W9AYQ

Health Consumers NSW will be closed from Thursday 24 December and we return on Monday 4 January.

We wish you a safe and healthy new year.