Annual/quarterly reports: Office of the Health Services Commissioner - Victorian Government Health Information, Australia

Health Home

Main A to Z Index | Site Map | About Health


		Health home > Office of the Health Services Commissioner home > Resources > Annual/quarterly reports

Office of the Health Services Commissioner

About the Commissioner

Information for patients

Information for complainants

Information for providers

Annual/quarterly reports

Annual/quarterly reports

Page Contents: Annual reports | Quarterly reports

Annual reports

Office of the Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2011

Commissioner's summary

The cover of this year’s Annual Report features a photograph taken in Hall’s Gap by our Assessment Officer, Kate Kennedy. Kate has captured the sadness and devastation of the Black Saturday bushfires and has also shown us there is a pathway to renewal and recovery. That pathway can be rocky but it’s there for us when we are ready to use it. At the Office of the Health Services Commissioner (OHSC) we like to carry out our work of health complaints resolution in a similar spirit. Something has gone wrong, sometimes very badly wrong, and it is our privilege to assist those who may have suffered (whether they are users or providers of health services) on the road to recovery and quality improvement. The pink native orchard in the foreground of Kate’s photograph symbolises for me the exceptional beauty of forgiveness.

This year seems to have gone by very quickly and glancing through my diary I can see the reasons why. It has been extremely busy. While complaint numbers have been fairly steady the number of requests for public speaking engagements, education sessions, consultations and information has risen rather dramatically. It appears the OHSC is much better known now and accessibility, which is a vital feature of all agencies of accountability, means extra work and resources are needed to meet increased public needs. My staff and I have continued to provide training sessions for health service providers and members of the public on our work in resolving complaints and on the requirements of the Health Records Act 2001 (HRA).

Some highlights include presentations to the PROBUS Clubs which provide friendship and support to so many of our senior citizens, fund raising events with our colleagues at PANDA which supports women experiencing post natal depression, and The Humour Foundation which supports the Clown Doctors, involvement with the Health Issues Centre Organising Committee for the Consumers Reforming Health Conference and the Department of Health’s “Doing it With us Not For Us” Advisory Group are examples of the interesting and important work we do in promoting consumer participation in the provision and assessment of health services.

Cooperation between OHSC and many other organisations is vital to ensure there are as few “gaps” in the system as possible. I am therefore grateful to Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Office of the Public Advocate, the State Ombudsman, the Coroner, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Health Complaints Entities throughout the country, the Disability, Child Safety and other Commissioners, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Department of Health (DH), the Mental Health Review Board, Mental Health Legal Centre Inc. and many other organisations with whom I and my staff hold meetings to receive and offer advice. Presentations at conferences of allied health professionals, such as the Australasian Conference on Medical Imaging allows me to give their members our perspective on how they are performing and provides an insight into the complexities of the work they carry out.

One of the functions of the Health Services Commissioner (HSC) is “to help service providers to improve the quality of health care”. Quality changes are achieved through agreements reached during complaints resolution and we are also involved in initiatives such as participation in St Vincents & Mercy Private video on Hand Hygiene and the Women’s Trust video “It’s About Choice: The Victorian Abortion Law Reform Story”. The Health Services Review Council (HSRC) and the OHSC have been involved closely with the development of the Department of Health’s Informed Consent and Newborn Screening initiative which has been piloted and will be rolled out in all relevant hospitals. The work done by Taryn Charles and her team at DH has the potential to provide an excellent model for many other jurisdictions to follow. It has already attracted the interest of other organisations which provide services such as cancer screening where informed consent is so important.

As Commissioner I am often invited to speak to gatherings of health service providers and/or users. This year it was an honour to give the address at the inaugural Neil Naismith Memorial Lecture. Neil was a member of the HSRC when I first became Commissioner 14 years ago and his advice on all matters related to hospital pharmacy was invaluable – as was his sense of humour! Involvement with the Victorian Public Health Care Awards is always rewarding as the awards promote and reward quality initiatives.

Health services involve a myriad of functions and workers who often go unacknowledged. Hence the invitation to address the Improving Patient Flow Conference, the Health Information Services Association meetings gave me an opportunity to consider the complexities involved in the administrative functions of our hospitals.

Volunteers contribute an enormous amount to many Victorian hospitals and other services. They provide a calming presence in Emergency and other waiting areas where a kind word and a cup of tea can make a significant difference to people’s hospital experiences. The palliative care volunteers have invited me to address several of their gatherings and this has been a privilege. These people give up their time to be with the dying and their families and to assist them at their time of greatest need. I salute them for the work they do and the difference they make to so many people suffering loss and grief.

This year I have had the pleasure of addressing the Glen Eira City Council Australia Day Breakfast, the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Consumer Forums, North Balwyn Baptist Friendship Club, the Ovens and King Valley Community Health Services Health and Ageing Forum, the English Speaking Union and I attended the opening of The Haven Foundation, accommodation for people with serious mental illness in Prahran. The initiatives of these individuals and organisations are so important in building and nurturing communities. Overseas visitors this year have included several members of the Japanese judiciary keen to learn about Australian dispute resolution initiatives. It was a great please to meet with Judge Ohmine and Oeme of the Japanese Supreme Court who were introduced to me by Sarah Hogan of the University of Melbourne. Sadly this visit was made all the more memorable and poignant because of the unbelievable devastation caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

With a staff of around 25 the OHSC is not in a position to carry out as much research as we would like. I was therefore delighted when approached by Professor David Studdert, a Federation Scholar at the University of Melbourne, who wanted to use some of the data collected by this office to undertake research. My staff and I have enjoyed the company of David’s extraordinarily talented young researchers including Dr Marie Bismark. They have published several important papers which are listed on our web site on the topics of informed consent and complaint-prone doctors. Marie was awarded the Gerry Murphy Prize for her research work on the complaint-prone doctor.

I acknowledge and am grateful for the hard work carried out by my staff and am pleased to note that all complaints handling personnel in my office are now fully accredited. There have been several staff changes during the year and they are noted in the Executive Services section of this Report written by Michael McDonald. Special mention must be made of Orysia Ckuj, Senior Conciliator who commenced with the OHSC in 1991 and left us in August 2010 to join the hard working team at AHPRA. I thank her sincerely for her experience, friendly professional manner, her mentoring of other staff members and support for me and my management team. Koula Louras, Senior Conciliator also left to join AHPRA after eight years of dedicated service with the OHSC from June 2002 until July 2010. From November 2006 until September 2010 I was fortunate enough to have Jacqui Hoepner as my Executive Assistant. I remain eternally grateful to Jacqui for her brilliant organisational skills and wish her well in her new career.

The HSRC provides invaluable expertise and advice on a substantial range of issues. I thank the President Robyne Schwarz and Members, for the significant role they have played in supporting the work of the OHSC and for their positive and sometimes robust discussions we have during our monthly meetings.

Beth Wilson
Health Services Commissioner