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Health consumers, patients, healthcare providers and health services have an important part to play in achieving health rights and ensuring a safe and high quality health system in Australia. A partnership approach between all stakeholders is critical to acknowledging and upholding those rights and in achieving good health outcomes for all Australians.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (Commission) conducted extensive consultations with the health sector, health consumer interest groups and government to aid the development of a charter of health care rights. The resulting Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights was created for all people receiving or seeking care in public and private hospitals, general practice and other ambulatory care environments in Australia. The Charter specifies the key rights of consumers and patients when interacting with health services and programs as access, safety, respect, communication, participation, privacy and comment.
Australian Health Ministers endorsed the Charter on 22 July 2008, recommending its use nationwide.
To support the national implementation of the Charter, the Commission developed additional resources for health consumers, patients, families, carers, healthcare providers and health facilities. A copy of the Charter and those resources are available from the Commission’s website in pdf format or through an audio presentation delivered in 17 community languages from:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/safety/publishing.nsf/content/com-pubs_ACHR
Health Consumers Queensland (HCQ) supports the nationwide roll out of the Charter and the intent to protect the rights, needs and interests of health consumers. To this end, HCQ is working with Queensland Health to ensure copies of the Charter are displayed at all Queensland Health sites and available in a range of formats.
Queensland Health’s Clinical Practice Improvement Centre (CPIC) has informed HCQ they are close to finalising an Implementation Standard for the Charter and this is expected to be completed by October 2009. Once the Implementation Standard is finalised, CPIC expects that copies of the Charter and related materials will be available across Queensland Health service sites and published on Queensland Health’s website.
HCQ has agreed to work with CPIC to jointly provide information to health consumers about the Charter and how it will be implemented in Queensland. HCQ will also be promoting the Charter at all its consumer engagement events, on our website and at specific consumer-friendly implementation activities during the latter part of 2009.
Health Consumers Queensland
Secretariat
2 September 2009
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