S097: Consumer, Carer Partnership Dialogue
Tracks
Track 5
| Friday, August 28, 2015 |
| 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM |
| Sutherland Theatrette |
Speaker
Ellen-Jane Browne
Manager, Consumer, Carer and National Relations
Department of Health and Human Services
The Victorian Consumer and Carer Partnership Dialogues - The learning goes on
Abstract
Introduction
The Victorian Government is committed to a program of service improvement and reform for mental health that includes a strong consumer and carer voice. As a consequence, the Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) has established Consumer and Carer Partnership Dialogues to facilitate collaboration across the Department, the consumer and carer workforce and the peak consumer and carer representative organisations in Victoria - the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC) and Tandem.
Background
The purpose of the partnerships is to create an opportunity for the consumer and carer workforce to engage directly with government and one another to ensure the views and interests of consumers and carers are well represented in relation to the development of Victoria’s mental health system and to provide a forum for emerging consumer and carer leadership. The Consumer and Carer Partnership Dialogues run independently of each other and are designed to promote information flow, consultation and collaboration to enable consumer and carer leadership and innovation. The Partnership Dialogues also inform broader planning and direction across government for policy initiatives and provide a forum for communication and coordination.
Areas of particular consideration have included, but are not limited to:
• Identifying consumer and carer issues in the clinical sector
• Identifying issues in the community sector
• Establishing consumer and carer issue working groups to facilitate policy and practice reform
• Promoting, facilitating and monitoring local consumer participation, providing opportunities for “two way” communication between the Minister/Department and the consumer and carer communities and utilising this learning in strengthening the work of services providing care
• Facilitating effective information sharing within and beyond the membership
• Identifying consumer and carer workforce issues and solutions for services and government to consider.
In this regard both participants and members would ask - have the partnerships been effective and what have been their key achievements?
Membership of the two partnership groups is drawn from the relevant peak bodies and paid consumer and carer workforces across clinical and community managed mental health services.
Questions for consideration
The Consumer and Carer Partnership Dialogues have, over the past two years, become an important part of the policy generation and implementation process for Victoria's mental health system. There is, however, always more that can be done, and the process of engagement can always be improved. The Victorian team would welcome discussion on what we have built in Victoria, and what learnings can be gained from the experience of others.
Possible questions could include:
• Why these particular consumers and carers? Is their particular expertise/experience relevant? Are there others who should be included in the process? What about the unpaid workforce?
• Is the process tokenistic? What steps can be taken to minimise this risk?
• How can we bring consumers and carers in as early as possible (ie. before decisions have been made)? Are there alternative mechanism?
• Are consumers and carers well-resourced, appropriately trained, etc?
• How can partners be equal without adequate resourcing?
• Do consumers have autonomy? Is there trust?
• Who stands to learn from this process? What can we learn from others?
Workshop Format
The workshop will utilise the consumer and carer partnership dialogues model that has been so effective. This will mean a short welcome and introduction (5 minutes), a presentation of the background/key issues (30 minutes) and then round table discussions on the key question (40 minutes), followed by a reporting back and summary session (15 minutes). The key presenters will be the CEO of VMIAC, the Executive Director of Tandem and the Victorian Director for Mental Health. Table facilitators will include these three and the senior policy advisors (consumer and carer) from the Department of Health and Human Services. Total duration will be 90 minutes.
The Victorian Government is committed to a program of service improvement and reform for mental health that includes a strong consumer and carer voice. As a consequence, the Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) has established Consumer and Carer Partnership Dialogues to facilitate collaboration across the Department, the consumer and carer workforce and the peak consumer and carer representative organisations in Victoria - the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC) and Tandem.
Background
The purpose of the partnerships is to create an opportunity for the consumer and carer workforce to engage directly with government and one another to ensure the views and interests of consumers and carers are well represented in relation to the development of Victoria’s mental health system and to provide a forum for emerging consumer and carer leadership. The Consumer and Carer Partnership Dialogues run independently of each other and are designed to promote information flow, consultation and collaboration to enable consumer and carer leadership and innovation. The Partnership Dialogues also inform broader planning and direction across government for policy initiatives and provide a forum for communication and coordination.
Areas of particular consideration have included, but are not limited to:
• Identifying consumer and carer issues in the clinical sector
• Identifying issues in the community sector
• Establishing consumer and carer issue working groups to facilitate policy and practice reform
• Promoting, facilitating and monitoring local consumer participation, providing opportunities for “two way” communication between the Minister/Department and the consumer and carer communities and utilising this learning in strengthening the work of services providing care
• Facilitating effective information sharing within and beyond the membership
• Identifying consumer and carer workforce issues and solutions for services and government to consider.
In this regard both participants and members would ask - have the partnerships been effective and what have been their key achievements?
Membership of the two partnership groups is drawn from the relevant peak bodies and paid consumer and carer workforces across clinical and community managed mental health services.
Questions for consideration
The Consumer and Carer Partnership Dialogues have, over the past two years, become an important part of the policy generation and implementation process for Victoria's mental health system. There is, however, always more that can be done, and the process of engagement can always be improved. The Victorian team would welcome discussion on what we have built in Victoria, and what learnings can be gained from the experience of others.
Possible questions could include:
• Why these particular consumers and carers? Is their particular expertise/experience relevant? Are there others who should be included in the process? What about the unpaid workforce?
• Is the process tokenistic? What steps can be taken to minimise this risk?
• How can we bring consumers and carers in as early as possible (ie. before decisions have been made)? Are there alternative mechanism?
• Are consumers and carers well-resourced, appropriately trained, etc?
• How can partners be equal without adequate resourcing?
• Do consumers have autonomy? Is there trust?
• Who stands to learn from this process? What can we learn from others?
Workshop Format
The workshop will utilise the consumer and carer partnership dialogues model that has been so effective. This will mean a short welcome and introduction (5 minutes), a presentation of the background/key issues (30 minutes) and then round table discussions on the key question (40 minutes), followed by a reporting back and summary session (15 minutes). The key presenters will be the CEO of VMIAC, the Executive Director of Tandem and the Victorian Director for Mental Health. Table facilitators will include these three and the senior policy advisors (consumer and carer) from the Department of Health and Human Services. Total duration will be 90 minutes.
Biography
