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

Lisa joined the FAC in 2009 and is currently the Chair of the FAC. Lisa's involvement with the Children's Hospital at Westmead spans ten years and she also works with the team at the Grace Centre for Newborn Care for the past seven years as part of their Parent Advisory Group and Grace Gala Committee.

Lisa runs a boutique Human Resources consulting practice and has over 20 years of corporate and consulting experience. Her experience includes large scale Project Management, Change Management, Employee Relations and Talent Management. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts (English) and a Master of Commerce (Employment Relations) and is a Professional Member of the Australian Human Resources Institute.

Lisa is passionate about creating a Family Centred environment for children and families who come to the hospital, through improving facilities, services, policies and partnerships.

Lisa is married to Mark and mum to Benjamin, Samuel and Madeleine.

Robin Grindrod, Deputy Chair

Robin joined the Family Advisory Council in 2006 and is currently Deputy Chair. Robin's involvement with The Children's Hospital at Westmead spans 9 years, with nearly 20 years in the paediatric health system.

Robin has engaged in advocacy work, such as radio and television interviews, conferences and federal government discussions, for numerous organisations, including the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH), Arthritis Australia, Arthritis NSW, Starlight Children's Foundation and Riding for the Disabled (RDA) - Ryde Centre for many years. Robin is Parent Representative on the Board of AWCH, has held a range of elected positions on the Committee of RDA (Ryde) and is currently Rider Coordinator of the Ryde Centre.

Robin is passionate about patient- and family-centred care as well improving the experience for children and families who come to the hospital and use the health system. By working in partnership to improve facilities, services and policies, Robin believes better outcomes can be achieved for all children, young people and their families.

Robin is married to Peter and Mum to Jess, Annie and twins, Amelia and Trista.

Cecily Waterworth

Cecily's journey with The Children's Hospital at Westmead started in 1994 with the birth of her fourth child. This journey has seen many admissions and extensive use of the outpatients services across a range of departments.

In 2000, Cecily joined Heart Kids, a not-for-profit organisation that provides support for children with heart disease and their families, working there for six years in a voluntary capacity, including five years as President. Through this role, Cecily spent many hours each week at the Hospital, visiting and supporting families of children with heart disease. This grew into an employment position as Family Support Coordinator, a position she held for 12 months.

Cecily has a Diploma of Teaching and taught full time for eight years. She now teaches on a casual basis.

Her own family's experiences, together with the collective experiences of families she met in her time visiting the wards, have made Cecily passionate about family-centred care and improving the facilities for and experiences of those who come to The Children's Hospital Westmead. Cecily joined the Family Advisory Council in 2006.

Sandra D'Souza

For almost 20 years, Sandra has held senior management positions across major corporate firms in a number of industries, from IT and technology, to media and publishing. From 1998 to 2001, she based herself in London, taking on a number of senior roles in MTV Networks Europe, EMI Records UK, UBS and Diageo.

Sandra realised that her passion lies with entrepreneurial ventures and embarked on a new path by consulting for start-ups and small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

Sandra is also a passionate advocate for women's' issues and children's health where she was the NSW State President for Business and Professional Women Australia (an international non-government organisation with a UN Consultative Status) in 2006 to 2009. She is currently a Board member of Australian River Restoration Centre, CFO of Muscular Dystrophy Foundation and Managing Director of Kudos Knowledge. She received the Edna Ryan Award for Mentoring (for the advancement of women) in 2008.

Sandra is excited to be part of the Family Advisory Council, as a parent of a chronically ill child. Her two year old daughter with complex medical issues has had frequent hospital admissions starting from Grace Ward (NICU) to many other wards. Her vast experience of many parts of the Hospital means Sandra has a lot to contribute to the Council.

Barbara O'Farrell

Barbara became a member of FAC in 2010. Her involvement with the Children's Hospital at Westmead began in 2007. She joined the Oncology Parent Advisory Committee (OPAC) in 2009 and volunteers with Cure Our Kids a family support group for families going through the cancer journey at the hospital.

Barbara worked for more than 30 years with the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Immigration including a number of overseas assignments. She has a Bachelor of Arts (English).

Barbara is married to Ashok and has two children Kieran and Asha.

Through her involvement with both committees, Barbara hopes she can contribute to a better experience for children and their families who find themselves in a relationship with The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

Anne Cutler, representing the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH)

Anne Cutler is the Program Manager for the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH) which is a national not-for-profit organisation of parents and professionals advocating for the needs of children, young people and their families within the health care system in Australia.

Anne is a qualified primary school teacher with a Master of Education (Health). Anne worked for a number of years as both a play specialist and hospital school teacher before joining AWCH. Anne's experience in these roles has developed a special interest in the psychosocial wellbeing of children, young people and their families.

As a regular member of both Sydney Children's Hospitals Network Family Advisory Councils, Anne enjoys contributing to the work of the Councils on behalf of AWCH. Raising awareness about the impact that hospitalisation has on families as well as hearing from parents about the issues that confront them when encountering the healthcare system are important areas of concern for AWCH.

CHW staff members

There are a number of CHW staff who are also members of the Family Advisory Council, that provide support to the Council and an important link with the Hospital. They are:

• Jude Foster - Carer Support Program Coordinator & Family Advisory Council Facilitator
• Kelly Bowler - Carer Support Officer
• Lizzy Harnett - Head of the Clinical Governance Unit
• Joyce Murphy - Consumer Participation Coordinator (currently on extended leave)

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 been involved in recently:

• The Consumer Participation Guidelines for staff.
• A video for staff orientation on the experiences of parents and carers in Hospital and the importance of family-centred care.
• 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.
• Reviewing feedback received from children and their families through the Hospital's suggestion boxes.

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 fac@chw.edu.au.

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

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, or want more information about becoming a member, just send an email to fac@chw.edu.au or phone 02 9845 3442.

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.

Kids Rehab

The Parents Advisory Committee 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 the Consumer Participation Coordinator on 02 9845 3442 or email siu@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.