Emergency Department Consumer Advisory Group
The Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) Emergency Department Consumer Advisory Group (ED CAG) works with Emergency Department (ED) staff to improve its services for patients, families, carers and visitors. Established in 2016, the ED CAG is the only emergency department consumer group in Australia.
Its primary purpose is to give feedback and share suggestions about how staff can make the ED experience as comfortable and stress-free as possible for all those who use its services.
This innovative alliance of consumers and staff won the 2019 SMHS Award for Excellence in Strengthening Partnerships.
The ED CAG consists of 10 members – 6 consumer and 4 senior medical staff. Consumer members bring their own experiences of being in hospital emergency departments, either as patients or carers. As none of the consumer members have a health background they offer fresh perspectives to ED staff.
Projects
The ED CAG works on projects of its own choosing aimed at improving the experiences of patients, families and carers visiting the Emergency Department.
Next-of-kin information guide
Members of the ED CAG have written a Next-Of-Kin information guide (PDF 177KB) to help explain:
- what next-of-kin means
- why the hospital asks for details of a patient’s next-of-kin
- what being someone’s next-of-kin involves.
Improving the triage experience
Visiting the ED can be a high-stress situation for consumers. The ED CAG welcomes comments, ideas and suggestions to find ways improve the experiences of ED patients and visitors. This could include:
- providing more information about the triage and waiting process
- improving the waiting room environment
- explaining how the ED works.
Please share your thoughts with us via email.
Helping staff understand the consumer experience
ED CAG members collect real-life stories from patients, carers and family members who visit the ED to share with staff to help them better understand their experiences.
Improving the quality of care for ‘at risk’ patients in the ED
A current project focuses on identifying underserved, vulnerable or 'at risk' patients in the ED and exploring how to improve the quality of their experience.
Become a member
To find out more about becoming a member of the ED CAG, please send an email.
Contact us
If you would like to hear more about the work of the ED CAG, or would like to tell us about your experiences of visiting the FSH ED, please email us.
More information
The FSFHG Consumer Advisory Council (CAC) includes consumer, carer and community members and provides support and advice to improve the hospital experience for patients, their families and other hospital consumers.
For updates on our work, please email and ask to see our 2019 annual self-assessment.
The Patient and Family Liaison Service welcomes all feedback, compliments, suggestions, concerns and complaints. You can also share your experiences via Care Opinion (external site).