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Our Community
Join our Consumer Register
We want patients and carers to join our Consumer Register to share your experiences and opinions with us.
We have 100 registered consumers, which includes our volunteers. We tend to ask our registered consumers for their opinion a few times a year. This may involve:
- reviewing our brochures, patient fact sheets and other materials
- being a part of focus groups to discuss hospital activities and planning of projects
- being a member of a group or committee that provides a consumer perspective to the hospital on operational and strategic work.
To join the Consumer Register or for more information, please contact Betty Tellis on 03 9929 8658 or Betty.Tellis@eyeandear.org.au
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
Closing the health gap for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community is an important issue at the Eye and Ear. Our approach is both hands on and strategic. Our Reconciliation Action Plan details the steps we are taking as an organisation to progress towards reconciliation and improve our services and service experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Our Partnering with Consumers and Community Plan aims to elevate the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients so they are active participants in their own care. The hospital's Aboriginal Health Strategy is also aligned with the key result areas of the Improving Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Patients (ICAP) program and focuses on improving service provision to Aboriginal patients by taking a service wide approach. These plans and strategies guide our actions and ensure we stay on track to delivering real improvements for our patients.
We have two Aboriginal Health Liaison Officers whose role is to provide cultural and social support for Aboriginal people accessing the hospital services. They are also looking to increase staff understanding of Aboriginal culture and history. They have been integral in building stronger relationships with the community and are looking to build links with Aboriginal health services to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.
Our Aboriginal Health Liaison Officers are available to support our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island patients. You can contact them on 03 9929 8422, by emailing Aboriginal.Health@eyeandear.org.au or you can ask staff at the hospital to contact them for you.
We also run a monthly Healthy Ears children’s clinic at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) to diagnose hearing conditions early and promote ear health which has strong links to effective language and learning development.
Our Community Advisory Committee
Our Community Advisory Committee provides advice to the Board on effective consumer and community participation in service development, delivery and evaluation. The committee includes 8-9 consumers, carers and community members along with members of the Board and staff.
The Community Advisory Committee develops and monitors the hospital’s Partnering with Consumers and Community Plan, which aims to increase opportunities for consumers to be involved in their care. The committee meets six times in a year and is a pivotal committee that assists the hospital to maintain its strong focus on including consumers in everything we do.
For more information about our Community Advisory Committee, contact the Planning and Patient Experience Manager on 03 9929 8946.
We produce an annual Quality Account (previously Quality of Care Report) for the community to access information about how the Eye and Ear is improving quality and safety and increasing community participation. You can read our latest report and provide your feedback online.
Disability access
The Eye and Ear is committed to providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all people with a disability. equal access to our services and facilities for people living with disability. Our Disability Action Plan is incorporated into the Partnering with Consumers and Community Plan and this supports and promotes equity and inclusiveness for all of our consumers, volunteers and staff with a disability.
Diversity
The Eye and Ear is committed to providing an inclusive and respectful environment, free from discrimination, for our diverse community which includes out consumers, volunteers and staff. The Partnering with Consumers and Community Plan incorporates our Diversity Plan which supports and promotes equity and inclusiveness for all members of our diverse community, including: culturally and religiously diverse people; people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI); linguistically diverse people; and people who identify as gender diverse. We treat all people as individuals and provide them with equitable care and treatment that meets their needs.
Strengthening Hospitals’ Response to Family Violence
The Eye and Ear recognises that family violence across the lifespan is complex, can affect anyone in the community – regardless of gender, age, sexual identity, culture and socio-economic situations. It has both immediate and long-term impacts on the physical, psychological, social health and wellbeing of those affected including children and therefore is a health issue.
As a public health service, the Eye and Ear is committed to creating a safe environment where patients experiencing family violence can be supported by skilled staff to access services, and where staff experiencing family violence can be supported in their workplace to access supports. For this reason, we are taking part in the Strengthening Hospitals’ Response to Family Violence project and offering staff and managers the opportunity to receive training to help them better identify and prevent family violence experienced by patients and their colleagues.