Consumer Council

Problem Statement

The Consumer Council:

• brings a health consumer and family/whaanau perspective to the development of CM Health plans, policies, publications and operational decisions
• raises health issues and opportunities of importance to our community.

What are we trying to achieve?

Our goals are to be a voice for consumers, bringing their perspective and diverse views to the design, development and decision-making process at CM Health. This is achieved through engagement with the Consumer Council, and including consumers in workshops, working and governance level groups, and reviews.

What have we done?

We have intentionally sought members for the council who represent our community. This means our Consumer Council is an ethnically diverse group, representing different geographical communities, genders, skills, education, religions, abilities and disabilities. We have Maaori and Pacific representatives on our group, as well as members from each CM Health locality.

What did we find?

The appetite for consumer engagement, and for understanding the experiences of patients, their whaanau and the community is increasing year upon year.

We have found that staff at CM Health are receptive to our viewpoint, including our perspectives on the development of policy, process, and work plans.

We meet quarterly with the CM Health Executive Leadership Team to bring the concerns of our communities to their attention. These joint discussions have been pivotal in providing an external community perspective.

How did we make a difference?

We have had an impact on the development of the Planned Proactive Care Programme and the organisational risk register. We are involved with the adverse events working and governance groups. We continue to work with the Executive Leadership Team on developing the CM Health disability strategy. Individual members are also involved in reviewing and credentialing services.

Where to from here?

We will continue to bring a patient, family and consumer voice to discussions. We are currently working on the visitors’ policy, ongoing parking issues and the development of a quality safety marker for consumer engagement in partnership with the Health Quality and Safety Commission.

We have just renewed our membership on the Metro Auckland Clinical Governance Forum, and are looking for two more members to join the Patient and Whaanau Centred Care Board.

We look forward to other opportunities for consumers to engage with CM Health projects and programmes.

From left to right: Lyn Davis, David Bryant, Gul Zaman, Sophie Tauhara, Debbie Siau, Gurmeeta Singh, Tevita Havea, Zhengxiu Xie, Rosalie Glynn (Chair), Debi Higson( Acting-Experience and Engagement Advisor).

Absent: Renee MacFadyen, Stella Cattle and Layla Lyndon-Tonga.