HCNSW - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Secretary
Annette was nominated by the Older Women's Network. She is a trained nurse who spent most of her working life in the community as a district nurse as well as some years in the country. She has also worked in aged care. Since her retirement, she has been involved in pastoral care in a number of aged care facilities. Annette is a member of the Northern Sydney Local Health District Community Participation Committee Lower North Shore and believes that she will be able to contribute by using her experience in health.
Job Titles:
- Consumer Engagement Manager, Health and Medical Research
- Health Consumer Engagement Manager, Health and Medical Research
Carrie has over 30 years of experience working alongside older people, people with disabilities, and health consumers to improve their involvement in research and the design of services. Before joining Health Consumers NSW, she worked with a diverse range of consumer organisations, and not-for-profit and government organisations across health, aged care and disability services in Australia. She is currently a Co-investigator with nine lived experience peer support researchers and the University of Newcastle exploring the challenges and benefits of peer support in peer-lead disability organisations in NSW. Carrie's vision is for consumers, researchers, and practitioners to work collaboratively to improve the involvement of consumers across all health and medical research.
Diana Aspinall, champion of health consumers People By hcnsw-syd-admin January 24, 2020 Diana Aspinall, champion of health consumers Health consumers everywhere have lost a true champion with the passing of Diana Aspinall, at age 80. A leading figure in the development of the health consumer movement in the Blue Mountains, Diana was also one of our (Health Consumers NSW's) founding members.
Anthony has been working as our full-time Executive Director since April 2014. He is passionate about consumer and carer engagement and was a member of the Steering Committee which helped establish HCNSW in 2012. He has worked for the Men's Health Information and Resource Centre at the University of Western Sydney and the Council for the Ageing before joining us. His vision for HCNSW is to make sure that health providers really listen to and show respect to health consumers, their families and carers.
Nominated by the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH), Elizabeth ‘Lizzy' is the consumer organisation's CEO. Lizzy has committed much of her personal and professional life over the past 30 years to improving healthcare. A key part of her role at AWCH is to advocate for the needs of children, young people and their families in the healthcare system. She is involved with the Genetic Alliance Board, RACP Advocacy and Policy Committee, the Sydney Children's Hospital Network Consumer and Community Council, Children's Healthcare Australasia Child and Family Centred Care Committee, Academy of Child and Adolescent Health and a number of other groups with a commitment to the wellbeing of children and young people. Lizzy feels that there is an opportunity for children and young people to be better represented at the NSW State level.
Emma is a passionate, creative and experienced educator who has worked in both the education and mental health sectors in NSW. Prior to joining HCNSW, Emma worked in the NSW Public Mental Health Sector, empowering consumers with a lived experience of mental illness to achieve their personal recovery goals and to be actively involved in individual and systemic advocacy. As Deputy Chair of the NSW Consumer Peer Workforce Committee, Emma has advocated within NSW Health to improve the mental health system through trauma-informed, strengths-based and recovery-oriented practice.
Job Titles:
- First Frequent User Program Health Consumer Representative
Fay Rhodes is NSW Ambulance's first frequent user program health consumer representative and Paul Wildin - NSW Ambulance Frequent User Program Manager - is the person she works with. Paul recruited Fay from Ambulance's frequent user program to assist in the development and review of its processes. The pair was looking for a way to upskill Fay in her new role when they found out about our training. After Fay attended our May 2019 Health Consumer Representative Training, we sat down with her and Paul.
As the President of the Thalassaemia Society NSW, George has been nominated to serve on the Health Consumers NSW Board. George believes that the end users and consumers of the NSW Health System need to be at the centre of government policy to ensure that health care policy meets the needs of patients. He has a particular focus on people who have a chronic and/or long-term reliance on the NSW Health system. The Thalassaemia Society deals with many sufferers from a vast mix of multicultural and socio-economic backgrounds and all age groups. As such, George fundamentally believes that the NSW Health System needs to cater to the different consumers of health treatments and services. George has extensive experience in community campaigns and advocacy and has broad experience in public policy and the private sector. George welcomes your feedback and ideas on how the Health Consumers NSW Board could help improve the NSW Health System.
Job Titles:
- Administration and Memberships Coordinator
Jenn is our Administration and Memberships Coordinator and came to HCNSW in March 2013. She has 20 years experience in office administration from a variety of roles in large multi-national and FMCG companies. Jenn is passionate about equity, respect and health education. She is proud to work for HCNSW as an organisation which is committed to improving health and wellbeing outcomes for health consumers in all communities across NSW. If you have any questions in regards to HCNSW and our services ask Jenn - she will be the one to know the answer. Jenn works four days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays to Fridays.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Board
Nominated by the Stroke Recovery Association NSW, John is a stroke survivor. He is also a Board member of the Stroke Recovery Association. John has held many senior management positions including NSW WorkCover Authority, Deputy Chairperson of the NSW Sporting Injuries Committee and as Principal Policy Officer - Strategic Policy and Reform Unit in the Premier's Department. John is a volunteer patient for medical students at the University of Notre Dame and the School of Physiotherapy at Newcastle University. He is passionate about sailing and volunteers for Sailability. John's vision for Health Consumers NSW is a united team effort to provide a voice for patients' and their families' and carers' in the NSW health system.
John Stubbs - goodbye for now People By HCNSW Comms Mgr February 14, 2020 In January 2020, one of our long-standing Board members, John Stubbs, resigned from our Board. We are sad to see John go and hope to see him back and involved with our organisation in the future. We fully support and understand the reasons for his resignation and wish him all the best in 2020. Health consumers everywhere have lost a true champion with the passing of Diana Aspinall, at age 80. A leading figure in the development of the health consumer movement in the Blue Mountains, Diana was also one of our (Health Consumers NSW's) founding members.
Julia is a communications and media professional with over 10 years experience spanning the TV, corporate and public sectors and a Master of International Communication. Julia has worked for the NSW Department of Family and Community Services as well as universities and communication agencies. She is passionate about helping consumers, patients and carers to have a voice. Julia is responsible for all communication and media projects and brings you The Wrap and Update!, our e-newsletters. Please contact her for any communication or media inquiries. Julia works three days a week: Wednesday to Friday.
Kaye was nominated by the Hunter Brain Tumour Support Network, which she has facilitated for more than a decade. Her own diagnosis of a brain tumour in 2000 has led her to advocate for those facing this disease. She was National Chair of Brain Tumour Australia and is the consumer member of the NSW Neuro-Oncology Group, and assists in the planning of patient forums and education of cancer care nurses with a specific interest in brain tumours. A journalist by profession, she has always specialised in community health and has been appointed to various health boards and advisory groups at national. state and local levels. She was chair of the After Hours Advisory Group of the Hunter Medicare Local and currently chairs the Community Advisory Group to the Primary Health Network for the Hunter Manning region. She worked as a palliative care volunteer within the Mercy Hospice and its Outreach and Outpatient services for almost 20 years.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Managing Director of Afghan Women
Maryam Zahid is the Founder and Managing Director of Afghan Women on the Move, a charity that works to provide advocacy, social connectivity through social media platforms, settlement and mental health support to the Afghan community, and especially Afghan women, in the greater Sydney area. She is also a Domestic Violence Prevention Officer with SydWest Multicultural Services.
Job Titles:
- Health Consumer Representative
Maureen Williams is an experienced health consumer representative who has been advocating for patients' voices for 42 years. Here, she tells us how she first got involved in patient representation and what she would like to see in the future.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Deputy Chair of Cancer Voices NSW
Murray is a Deputy Chair of Cancer Voices NSW and has worked on a voluntary basis for the Cancer Council of NSW on the NSW Central Coast, focusing on policy and advocacy and on the representation of health consumers in the NSW health system.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chair
- Member of the Board
Neil has worked in the corporate world for over 15 years in product marketing and has volunteered in various roles around the HIV sector since 2014. As a Program and Peer Support Officer, with Positive Life NSW, one of our voting members, Neil is responsible for the administration of their programs. He brings a strong passion for building the quality of life for people living with HIV in NSW after his HIV diagnosis in 2013 and a wealth of networking and marketing knowledge with him. He has been a speaker for the Positive Speakers Bureau.
Job Titles:
- Consumer Engagement Manager, Health Services
- Health Consumer Engagement Manager, Health Services
Tara became a health advocate after her own experience in the health system with a desire to partner with staff to bring about positive change. She developed a passion for consumer engagement, patient stories, lived experience and co-design. Before becoming HCNSW's Consumer Engagement Manager, Health Services, Tara worked as Community and Consumer Partnerships Officer with the Western Sydney Local Health District. Tara is passionate about her work. She is humbled by - and truly appreciates - the consumer and community members she works with.