Consumer Representatives Program
The Consumer Representatives Program is a focal point for both consumer groups and government for the nomination, training and support of consumer representatives. It provides skilled representatives to more than 50 committees across the ACT health system.The Program provides training, policy support and resource materials for consumer representatives, establishes channels for representatives to feedback to the community and identifies potential nominees for committees and advisory boards.
Why a consumer representative?Representatives are people who use healthcare have particular knowledge not otherwise available to policy makers. They ensure health service users have input into policies and direction and remind committee members that the public interest is of primary concern.
What is a consumer representative?A consumer representative is someone who is endorsed by the Health Care Consumers' Association of the ACT (HCCA) to represent the views and interests of health consumers.
HCCA consumer representatives have experience of health services primarily as consumers of services. They commit to being well informed about relevant health issues and representing a broad range of consumer views by ensuring they are accountable to others through HCCA and/or other community groups.
For more information about consumer representation click to the Consumers' Health Forum of Australia (CHF) http://www.chf.org.au/ . Health Care Consumers' Association of the ACT Inc is a member of CHF, which is an independent member-based non-government organisation providing a national voice for health consumers.
