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

Annual/quarterly reports

Annual reports

Office of the Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2009

Commissioner's summary

This has been a challenging and busy year for the Office of the Health Services Commissioner (OHSC). In January 2009 we received the Review of the OHSC Final Report conducted by KPMG. The Final Report highlighted some areas where the OHSC could improve the way it goes about its business to better serve the public, with many of the recommendations having already been implemented. The KPMG Review provided a timely look at OHSC procedures and processes and we are grateful to the reviewers for the thoroughness of their work and the usefulness of their suggestions for change. The Department of Human Services (DHS) has been very supportive during this process and I thank, in particular, Carolyn Gale and Liz Sadler for their assistance.

During the year under review, and partly because of budget savings imposed on us, we lost several staff members. Their contribution is acknowledged in the Executive Services section of this Report under the heading ‘Staff of the OHSC as at 30 June 2009’. These people have made a great contribution to the work of the OHSC and I will mention specifically Keith Jackson and Jill Aitken because of their many years of dedicated service. Keith Jackson, our Chief Conciliator, was a staff member of the OHSC for 21 years. During that time he provided mentorship and support for our conciliators but also for those of other health complaint commissioners and similar organisations interstate. Keith has obtained a position with Fair Work Australia, which is the new national workplace relations tribunal, and I am sure they will value his expertise and service. Jill Aitken was an Assessment Officer with the OHSC for 15 years and during that time built up an enormous amount of corporate knowledge and skill at dealing with complaints. We thank Jill and wish her well in her retirement. For reasons which we don’t fully understand, our complaint numbers increased in the year under review and, as this coincided with a decrease in our workforce because of budget restraints, it has placed challenges on OHSC which we are still negotiating. We will be acquiring the assistance of a new Deputy Commissioner - Manager, Complaints to replace Keith Jackson and undertake new tasks. We are hoping this will ease the burden on those staff who have been under increased pressure during the year under review. The new position will involve managing complaints processes across the whole office in an endeavour to reduce any silo effect and ensure that members of the public receive a seamless service. It is also anticipated the Deputy Commissioner – Manager, Complaints will assist with policy work, change management and complaints resolution, and have very good dispute resolution and people management skills.

As in previous years the HSC has been asked to provide a very large number of education, training and speaking sessions. I have had to reduce the number of community-based club appearances to one per week as it was becoming too time consuming and other priorities have had to prevail.

The OHSC has been closely involved with the move to a national registration and accreditation scheme which will see national registration boards by 1 July 2010. We have responded to all of the consultation papers, attended the relevant forums and provided advice and support. This initiative is a most important one which the HSC fully supports as it is in the public interest as well as the interest of individual professionals who will be able to work in all jurisdictions of Australia while only needing to be registered and accredited in one. The fine detail of complaints management is yet to be worked out as this remains a matter for the State and Territory Governments.

I was once again one of the judges for the DHS Quality of Care Reporting Awards and the 2009 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards, including the Premier’s Health Service of the Year Award. These awards recognise the work that many of our health service providers do. They are exciting events to be part of and the enthusiasm which finalists display on the awards night is an exhilarating and interesting experience.

The OHSC has been involved in many new policy initiatives including advance care planning, mental health policy, consumer participation, newborn screening, e-health privacy risks, medico-legal issues, allied health professionals and human rights.

The OHSC is greatly assisted with complaints resolution by the work of complaints liaison officers who are located in the hospitals and larger health services throughout Victoria. The OHSC supports complaints liaison officers through their organisation, the Health Services Liaison Association (HSLA), and provides a venue for HSLA meetings. Orientation programs for complaints liaison officers are also available. As is mentioned in the Health Services Review Council (Council) President’s Report, Dr Paul Nisselle AM, who is the longest-standing member of Council, has resigned and is working in the United Kingdom. I thank Paul for his very significant contribution to the OHSC and for his expert advice and accessibility.

I also take this opportunity to thank the hard-working staff of the OHSC who bring commitment and enthusiasm to their work. Complaints handling can be very emotional and stressful and I respect the way in which OHSC staff skilfully manage their work.

Beth Wilson
Health Services Commissioner

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