The Family Advisory Council

Who are we?

The Family Advisory Council (FAC) is the peak consumer group at The Children's Hospital at Westmead. It is made up of families whose children are current or past patients of the Children's Hospital at Westmead (CHW). FAC is supported by CHW staff and our executive sponsor is the Director for Clinical Governance.

Current members are:

• Lisa Ainsworth - Chair
• Robin Grindrod - Deputy Chair
• Cecily Waterworth
• Anthony Bucco
• Karen Callinan
• Jenny Azzopardi
• Jennie Bucco
• Anne Cutler, representing the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH)
• Joyce Murphy - CHW Consumer Participation Coordinator
• Katherine Stone - CHW Carer Support Coordinator
• Lizzy Harnett - CHW Head of the Service Improvement Unit

What do we do?

The FAC provides a family perspective with regards to planning, policy, service development and improvement at CHW. The FAC is the formal mechanism for a partnership between families and staff with a focus on improvement and planning.

Through the Family Advisory Council, staff and parents work together to make The Children's Hospital at Westmead a better place for children and their families.

How do we do it?

The FAC meets at the Children's Hospital at Westmead once a month, during business hours. At our three-hour meetings, we discuss issues that are important to families and provide our unique perspective to help improve services for children and their families at the Hospital.

For more information on how we operate, check out our Terms of Reference

Our achievements

The Family Advisory Council is a dynamic group that has made significant contributions to improvement at The Children's Hospital at Westmead. Here are some things we've done recently:

• The Hospital's communication to families about the new security measures on the wards.
• The Consumer Participation policy.
• Inclusion of allied health staff in ward rounds, one of the recommendations that has come out of the Garling inquiry.
• Parking
• Professional Image of Nursing
• Professional Boundaries project
• Review of the Handbook for Families
• Policy on Allowing a Natural Death
• CHW Rights & Responsibilities document

Current projects

Here are some of the projects the Family Advisory Council is currently working on or has planned for 2010:

• Joint meetings with the Sydney Children's Hospital Parent & Consumer Council to identify opportunities for shared work on common issues facing children and their families
• Continuing involvement as needed in the Professional Boundaries project
• Review of the Hospital-wide action plan for improvement
• Involvement in the suggestion box process, reviewing feedback provided by children and their families
• Monthly morning tea in the Parent & Carer Resource Centre
• A video for staff orientation on the experiences of parents and carers in Hospital and the importance of family-centred care.

Want to become a member?

The Family Advisory Council is a very active group who want to make a difference to children and families at the Children's Hospital at Westmead.

We're looking for members who:

• are able to share insights and information about their experiences in ways that others can learn from them.
• are good listeners.
• respect the perspectives of others.
• will speak comfortably and candidly in a group.
• interact well with many different kinds of people.
• can work in partnerships with others.
• see beyond their own personal experience to the bigger picture.
• are able to attend monthly meetings.

If you'd like more information about becoming a member, please call Joyce Murphy on 9845 3442 or email joycem@chw.edu.au.

All potential members must go through a recruitment process, as described in the Terms of Reference

Feel free to contact us!

If you would like to get in touch with the Family Advisory Council, just send an email to fac@chw.edu.au or phone 02 9845 3442 and ask for the Consumer Participation Coordinator.

Other parent advisory groups at The Children's Hospital at Westmead

Grace Centre for Newborn Care

The Grace Parent Advisory Group was established several years ago and is made up of parents whose children were patients in this neonatal intensive care unit.

The Group meets once a month to discuss issues relevant to the Grace Centre for Newborn Care and organise fundraising events for the Centre.

Brain Injury & Rehabilitation

The Brain Injury & Rehabilitation advisory group is made up of parents whose children have used the Rehabilitation service at CHW.

The group meets once every three months in the evenings to discuss issues relevant to the Rehabilitation Department.

Oncology

The Oncology Parent Advisory Group meets every two months. It provides a family perspective on services in the Oncology Treatment Centre, contributes to the Chemo Chronicle and helps organise the annual Hope Day event.

For more information about these groups

For more information about any of these groups, please contact Joyce Murphy, Consumer Participation Coordinator on 02 9845 3442 or email joycem@chw.edu.au.

Please note these groups are not support groups. If you would like some information about joining a support group or would like to set up a support group, please contact Kids Health on 02 9845 3585 or email kidsh@chw.edu.au. You can also contact the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH) on 02 9817 2439 or email awch@awch.com.au.

Supporting family-centred care at The Children's Hospital at Westmead

The Children's Hospital at Westmead is committed to providing family-centred care, an approach to health care that:

• empowers patients and their families and fosters independence
• supports family care-giving and decision-making
• respects patient and families' choices and their values, beliefs and cultural backgrounds
• builds on individual and family strengths
• involves patients and their families in planning, delivery and evaluation of health care services.

The Family Advisory Council supports family-centred care at a Hospital level, while other parent advisory groups support family-centred care within their area.

Family-Centred care is based on four key concepts:

Dignity and Respect. Health care practitioners listen to and respect patient and family perspectives and choices. Patient and family knowledge, values, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds are incorporated into the planning and delivery of care.

Information Sharing. Health care practitioners communicate and share information with patients and families about treatment and the plan for care. Patients and families receive timely, complete, and accurate information, to effectively participate in care and decision-making.

Participation. Patients and families are encouraged and supported in participating in care and decision-making at the level they choose.

Collaboration. Patients, families, health care practitioners and other hospital staff work together in policy and program development, implementation, and evaluation; in health care facility design; and in professional education, as well as in the delivery of care.

With thanks to the Institute for Family-Centred Care.