Consumer Engagement in Maternity Health Services

in the studio with Annalee Atia (left) & Sally Cusack

Are you a healthcare services consumer? Specifically - have you accessed any form of maternity healthcare services in the last few years? 

On Friday May 25th 2018, Sally Cusack & I spent the day up at Tweed Heads, attending a Consultation workshop as part of the governments plans to develop a National Strategic Approach to Maternity Services. The consultation was hosted by the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC). The expected outcome for the NSAMS project is a document to guide national maternity services policy.

Along with about 20 other people we debated and discussed, listened and contributed to the conversation. What should maternity services look like in the future? What are the main frameworks and who are the key stakeholders? What’s missing from the current system and how do we go about attaining a system that delivers better outcomes for mothers, their babies, their families and those that work within these systems?

I have the beautiful Sally Cusack in the studio, join us as we discuss all this and more on this special episode of Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond. 

Listen to the Podcast

Listen to "The Consumer's role in Planning Maternity Healthcare Services" on Spreaker.

Definitions and Links

The following definitions are taken from the Health Consumers NSW website. Visit their site for more information about consumer engagement. 

Health Consumer
Health Consumers are people who use health services, as well as their family and carers. This includes people who have used a health service in the past or who could potentially use the service in the future. 

Maternity Consumer Advocate
A health consumer representative is a health consumer who has taken up a specific role to provide advice on behalf of consumers, with the overall aim of improving health care.
A consumer representative is often a consumer member of a committee, project or event who voices consumer perspectives and takes part in decision making on behalf of consumers. A health consumer representative may be nominated by and accountable to, a consumer organisation.
Usually the role is working with a health service (or consumer organisation) and is often in a volunteer capacity. Sometimes the role comes with a small payment to cover the consumer’s costs.

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About this Episode

 Sally Cusack  is a mother of two children and founder of the Pregnancy Birth and Beyond Radio project in 2010.  She became a presenter on the show in 2014.  Sally has been a member of Maternity Choices Australia and consumer representative for women in her community since 2010. Since 2015 she has sat on the Northern NSW Local Health District's Consumer and Engagement and Advisory Committee and maternity specific steering committees in the LHD.  She was part of the community campaign that oversaw the reopening of the birthing service at Murwillumbah Hospital and the establishment of ongoing consumer engagement for maternity services in the LHD.  

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Copyright
PBB Media
Producer/Host: Annalee Atia
Interviewee: Sally Cusack