Month: November 2025

Talking with, and listening to, the Diabetes Community in WA at the Perth Diabetes Expo

Posted on November 18, 2025

TLDR

Our team met with people living with diabetes at the Perth Diabetes and Health Expo. We heard concerns about stigma, cost, and access to care. These insights will guide our advocacy work to support fair and responsive services in Western Australia.

Aimee Riddell and Tania Harris attended the Perth Diabetes and Health Expo hosted by Perth Diabetes Care. The event brought together people living with diabetes, carers, service providers, and advocates from across Western Australia.

We used the opportunity to speak directly with consumers. People told us that cost remains a barrier to routine care. Some spoke about long wait times for support. Others raised concerns about the stigma linked to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. These conversations helped us understand the real pressures people face each day.

People also told us that health services feel more respectful when consumers help design them. Many said that lived experience brings clarity to decisions about treatment pathways, education, and community support. Hearing this reinforced the value of strong consumer voice in every part of the health system.

Our team also met local organisations that support diabetes care. This included educators, nurses, community programs, and allied health providers. These groups play a key role in helping people stay well, manage daily tasks, and understand treatment options.

Events like this show the importance of building strong links between consumers and health services. They help ensure that decisions take real experience into account. They also help reduce stigma by giving space for open and honest conversations.

We thank Perth Diabetes Care for hosting the event. We look forward to future opportunities to stand with the diabetes community and support better access to safe, affordable, high quality care.

Not “Just a GP” – The Specialists in Everyday Care

Posted on November 12, 2025

We really enjoyed reading this article this week Not “Just a GP”: The Paradox of the Specialist Generalist and thought our readers would enjoy it too. GPs are specialists who undertake training in General Practice after they have qualified as a medical practitioner and worked in the hospital system. Just like all other specialties, it requires specific training and on the job learning.

The provision of primary care is crucial to all consumers and having good GPs in our communities is essential for our wellbeing. We expect a GP to be able to tell us if a mole looks strange, if our runny nose and cough will clear up by the weekend, if our recurring Urinary Tract Infections are anything to worry about and if they think we should see a psychologist because we can’t find the same joy in every day life that we used to. They will see a baby who won’t stop coughing in one appointment, an elderly patient who is showing signs of confusion in the next, a teenager with a suspected broken arm, another teenager who has stopped eating and started self harming, then a woman struggling with perimenopause. This takes training, vast amounts of knowledge, compassion and excellent interpersonal skills. They’re not “Just a GP”, they are primary care specialists who are often the first person we open up to without concerns.

Health Consumers’ Council WA welcomes hospital investment and continues to call for action to keep Western Australians healthier for longer

Posted on November 7, 2025

Clare Mullen speaks about the Healthcare Consumers' Council

Perth, Western Australia — 06/11/25

Health Consumers’ Council WA (HCCWA) welcomes today’s announcement by the WA Government of increased investment in hospital capacity, recognising it as an important step in responding to the current demand for hospital care.

HCCWA Executive Director Clare Mullen said the investment would be reassuring for people struggling to access timely care, and emphasised that the ultimate goal must be a healthier population that requires less hospital care in the first place.

“Every Western Australian deserves access to high-quality hospital care when they need it —but a truly sustainable health system keeps people healthy and supported before they reach crisis point,” Ms Mullen said.

“No one wants to need hospital care. Ill-health need not be inevitable. To reduce pressure on hospitals, we need to invest just as strongly in prevention, early intervention, and the social conditions that keep people well.”

Ms Mullen said consumers consistently raise concerns about the difficulty of accessing affordable and timely primary and community care and early intervention with health issues —particularly for people living with or at risk of chronic conditions, or in regional and remote areas.

“When there is a lack of early intervention programs, or people can’t access the right care at the right time, health problems escalate and hospital admissions become inevitable,” she said.

“It’s a relief to see hospital expansion to ease the current pressure on services. But without strong community-based options, as well as targeted investment in preventative health activities, the demand for acute care will keep rising.”

“Western Australians want to see a system that supports health, as well as one that treats illness — one that helps people to stay well, connected and supported in their communities.”

HCCWA is calling for a balanced approach that includes:

  • Long-term investment in early intervention and preventive health programs,
  • Better funding for community-based and multidisciplinary care, and
  • policies that address the social and economic drivers of poor health.

“This is a welcome and necessary investment in hospital capacity. And we look forward to partnering with WA Health to ensure consumers and community members are actively involved in shaping these important infrastructure projects,” Ms Mullen said. “And if we want fewer people needing hospital care, we must also invest in prevention.”

For further information or media requests: 

Clare Mullen  |  Executive Director
0488 701839
clare.mullen@hconc.org.au