Blogger Tutorial

If you're interested in participating in HCCA's blog, please use the following instructions to create a Blogger.com account.

This video tutorial is provided by Blogger.com, and will explain, step-by-step, how to create your own Blogger account.

Follow other blogs

With the Blogger Following feature you can keep track of the blogs you follow via your Reading List on the Blogger dashboard. There are several ways to become a follower of a blog. One of the easiest ways is to visit a blog that has added the 'Following' widget, ad then follow these steps:

1. Click the FOLLOW THIS BLOG link under the 'Followers' widget.
   
   

   




2. You'll then see a pop-up window with the options to either follow publicly or anonymously.









3. Select how you'd like to follow the blog, then click the orange FOLLOW button. You're now a follower of the blog! If you chose to follow the blog publicly, your profile picture will be displayed on the blog with a link to your Blogger profile.

 

4. When you become a follower of a blog, the blog will also be added to your Reading List on your Blogger dashboard. Additionally, you can become a follower of any blog or URL (even if the blog doesn't have the 'Followers' widget) by adding the blog to your Reading List on the dashboard.

Training

Health Care Consumers' Association of the ACT (HCCA) provides training for people interested in becoming consumer representatives. The training is free and conducted in a relaxed atmosphere. People share their views and experiences of health services in the ACT, and learn about consumer participation and how it benefits the health system. Participants meet experienced consumer representatives and hear about the consumer representative role first hand.

Participants have described the training as:

"Empowering." (September 2011)

"...professional and impressive in quality" (September 2010)

"Very educational." (March 2010)

The training consists of four modules across two days:

• Module 1- Understanding the Representative Role:
  This module includes discussion on consumer participation and consumer rights, the roles and responsibilities of being a representative and consumer representatives stories.

 

• Module 2 - Diversity in Representation:
  This module looks at networking and how to obtain consumer views. It provides tools to enhance your representative role and how HCCA can support you in the role. It outlines the nomination process and guidelines for representation

 

• Module 3 - Committee and Presentation Skills: This module looks at how committees work and provides information about the different committees in the ACT health sector. Learn how to prepare for meetings, get noticed and how to put your case and influence the agenda.

 

• Module 4- The Context for Representation - HCCA and ACT Health:
  This module explains how HCCA works and how members are involved, it looks at the ACT Health system, the current consumer priorities in ACT Health and how decisions are made in the system.

The training course runs several times per year.  In 2011 training was held in March, May/June and September. If you would like more information about the training or to register your interest contact the office on 6230 7800 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Committee Vacancies

Community Clinical Record Steering Committee

This committee will oversee the development and implementation of an electronic clinical record for community based services. The Community Allied Health Services will be the first service to start using the Community Clinical Record half way through this year. This will be followed by Community Nursing, Maternal and Child Health Services, The Walk in Centre, Diabetes Services and other identified services. For more information on the business of the committee, please see the above document.

This committee meets every six weeks at The Canberra Hospital. The meeting dates for the remainder of the year are as follows: Wednesday 26th June, Wednesday 7th August, Wednesday 18th September, Wednesday 30th October and Wednesday 11th December.

Nominations close Thursday 16 May 2013. Please see below for a list of required competencies for a Consumer Representative. Please keep these in mind when completing the nomination form.

Women’s and Children’s Centenary Hospital Executive Reference Group

This Executive Reference Group is a high-level Health Infrastructure Program (HIP) committee that will oversee the development of Stage 2 and Stage 3 of the Women’s and Children’s Centenary Hospital.

This committee is responsible for a variety of activities, including signing off on plans and schedules for the new building, developing and implementing the Models of Care (MOC) and risk management. For a full list of the committee’s responsibilities, please see the Terms of Reference above.

The committee meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 4:00pm at The Canberra Hospital. The next meeting is Tuesday 28 May 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: This committee currently meets monthly, but the meeting frequency will increase after 1 July 2013. This committee is due to finish in December 2013. The successful nominee will sit alongside a HCCA staff member on this committee.

As this is a high level committee, HCCA are looking for nominations from consumer representatives with experience in meeting procedures. Please note this does not necessarily exclude new consumer representatives.

Nominations close Tuesday 21 May 2013. Please see below for a list of required competencies for a Consumer Representative. Please keep these in mind when completing the nomination form.

ACT Health Directorate Telehealth Steering Committee

This important eHealth committee will provide guidance for the development and implementation of an ACT Health Telehealth Strategy. Telehealth refers to the delivery of health services in circumstances involving separation in location and or time, using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

The committee will identify the scope and design of an ACT Health Telehealth Strategy with the view to successfully implement it in the ACT. The committee will monitor Telehealth standards to ensure compliance meets organisational, ACT and National standards, assist in preventing delays to the introduction of the Telehealth strategy, and contribute to the benefits, challenges and future priorities for Telehealth.

The committee are looking for an enthusiastic consumer representative with knowledge of ICT, including Facebook, Skype, webcam etc. A consumer representative who is familiar with, or has had experiences with, ICT in a health care environment, including audio or video consultations as a patient, would be an added bonus.

The committee will meet monthly on Thursday evenings, with the inaugural meeting to be held on Thursday 20 June 2013 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at The Canberra Hospital.

Nominations close Tuesday 28 May 2013. Please see below for a list of required competencies for a Consumer Representative. Please keep these in mind when completing the nomination form.

Required Competencies of a Consumer Representative

Consumer representatives must demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Ability to address issues from a consumer perspective and to honestly and accurately reflect a broad consumer view, rather than their own personal position;
2. Effective interpersonal skills, especially oral communication skills;
3. Good negotiation skills, to work with providers and consumers to develop solutions to problems;
4. An interest in health issues and recent and relevant experience of health services;
5. A knowledge of, or the ability to acquire knowledge of, the issues involved in the role to which they are seeking appointment;
6. Be capable of gathering, understanding and reflecting the viewpoints and concerns of consumers;
7. Received training on being a consumer representative delivered by HCCA or other relevant organisation, e.g. Consumers Health Forum; Mental Health Consumers Network, Breast Cancer Network of Australia
8. Have links to consumer organisations. People wishing to become an HCCA consumer representative must be financial members of HCCA for the duration of the committee.
9. Act with integrity and enhance the professional reputation of HCCA;
10. Work collaboratively with ACT Health Directorate and HCCA staff and members.

Sponsored Event Positions

There are no sponsored event positions at this time.

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.