In WA, the community are fortunate to some extent in that we have the only Government funded independent health advocacy service that is available to patients and families across all areas of healthcare (via Health Consumers’ Council WA).
However, our capacity is extremely limited and so we are unable to advertise this service publicly. Despite this, we consistently have a waitlist of months. We believe that independent health advocates on site in hospitals could help avert some of the tragic events that our team and Suresh advocate about every day.
As a minimum, we are calling for the Government to fund access to independent advocacy for anyone who is involved in a serious clinical incident in hospital.
Feedback to our service shows just how valuable having a knowledgeable advocate on your side can be (“I’m super grateful I had access to your organisation for help, otherwise I would have not known what to do and what my rights are”, “It reduced my anxiety immensely having support”, “thank you to our advocates for providing objective advice and their knowledge on the medical system… our toddler was diagnosed and it’s a very emotional and unpredictable time. It’s our first contact as new parents with the medical system which is very difficult to navigate alone. HCC was a huge help advice and emotionally”.
On behalf of the tens of thousands of health consumers that have been supported to have their voice heard since HCCWA was set up as an independent voice for the community on health, we are calling for radical investment in independent health advocacy in our hospitals to make healthcare fair and ensure that no-one is left feeling unheard in our hospitals.