The here and now
Consumer voices enhance care
Our network of consumer advisory groups grew significantly this year, reflecting our community members’ commitment to enhancing our services and the importance we place on their input. Consumer advisory groups play a vital role in our health care by ensuring the voices of patients and community members are actively included in shaping services and policies. They help improve care quality, build trust, identify barriers and promote equity by bringing diverse perspectives into decision-making.
At Royal Perth Bentley Group (RPBG), new consumer advisory groups include the RPBG Emergency Department Consumer Advisory Group, RPBG Aboriginal Consumer Advisory Group and Next Step Integrated Services Consumer Advisory Group. They join the established RPBG Consumer Advisory Committee (which includes the chairs of the other consumer advisory groups) and Lived Experience Advisory Group (mental health). To ensure important matters are addressed at the highest level, regular catchups this year began between Consumer Advisory Committee Chair Karen Collinson and RPBG Executive Director Ben Noteboom.
Consumer advisors also visited nearly 200 patients at Royal Perth Hospital and Bentley Health Service. We are pleased to share 90 per cent of the interactions with patients and carers were about what our services are doing very well. Visits also expanded this year to include our voluntary mental health wards.
Meanwhile, the Armadale Kalamunda Group (AKG) Consumer Advisory Committee is also active in ward rounds, engaging directly with patients to hear about their experiences. Notably, during ward rounds in May, patients expressed appreciation for the quality and enjoyment of the food. The consumer advisors are also helping shape a new Mental Health Emergency Centre which will open in 2028, and their voices are central to general infrastructure decisions through the AKG Facilities and Planning Committee.
East CareConnect, our virtual health arm, has a special consumer advisory committee, which was established in May.
Teaming up for mental health in emergencies
Western Australia’s first specialised ambulance service for people experiencing a mental health emergency in the community began this year – and we are proud to be a founding partner.
The new Mental Health Ambulance Co-Response service was launched in November as a partnership between EMHS, St John WA, the Mental Health Commission of Western Australia and the WA Department of Health.
The service provides virtual mental health triage for 000 ambulance callers and also has mobile teams of mental health professionals and paramedics to care for people aged 16 and above during a mental health crisis.
Launched with a $7.9 million investment from the WA Government, it has redefined our emergency responses for mental health care.
Our staff work alongside those at St John WA in the pivotal role of triaging 000 mental health-related ambulance calls across the metropolitan area.
An EMHS-St John mobile response team was also the first to begin operating in December.
The team is made up of an EMHS authorised mental health practitioner and a St John paramedic in an unmarked St John response vehicle. It is available 7 days a week, 12pm to 10pm.
The Mental Health Ambulance Co-Response service has already helped reduce emergency department presentations due to mental health.
Many callers qualifying for mental health triage are able to be helped via a phone triage-only response. More than 80 per cent of those who do require a face-to-face response are able to be assessed in their homes instead of hospital.
