practice examples that have been used in a range of settings by other government and bodies in the drafting of the Commitment. Disability is the result of the interaction between people living with impairments and barriers in the physical, attitudinal, communication and social environment. This commitment seeks to enable people to engage with the Disability Health Network in a way that reduces the impact of or removes barriers to participation. We have developed and published three versions of the Commitment, this one, an easy read and an accessible version. The Commitment is the starting point of our efforts to ensure that engagement is inclusive. In implementing our Commitment we plan to review it along with our stakeholders and welcome your feedback now and in the future. We hope you find this Commitment useful and look forward to your ongoing participation in the Network. Payne Co-Lead Andrew Heath Co-Lead Introduction The Disability Health Network, launched on 1 November 2012 is built on a partnership between WA Health and the Disability Services Commission and will be guided and informed by previous consultation processes including those of the Disability Health Consultative Group, Disability Services Commission and the Clinical Senate debate on disability and health. Future stakeholder engagement will inform the direction and focus of the Network as it moves forward. The Disability Health Network - Commitment to Inclusive Engagement supports the work of the Disability Health Network (DHN), Executive Advisory Group (EAG) and Working Groups (WG). It is to be used by the EAG and WGs to guide their communication with the DHN and stakeholders. It can however be used by all stakeholders who are undertaking any work that impacts on people with disability. It will be used when planning or implementing any stakeholder engagement activities that may be associated with projects of the DHN. The type of activity or strategy developed will depend on the project. The Commitment encourages increasing participation and inclusion and enabling the choice of appropriate engagement activities. Not all projects require the type or level engagement, however all types of engagement will endeavour to be inclusive. “Disability resides in society not the person.” United Nations In this context the social model of disability will be used and carers, as defined in the Carers Recognition Act 2004 (appendix 1) will be recognised along with families where appropriate.
PROMISE TO THE PUBLIC We will keep you informed. We will keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge concerns and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision. We will work with you to ensure that your concerns and issues are directly reflected in the alternatives developed and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision. We will look to you for direct advice and innovation in formulating solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible. We will implement what you decide. EXAMPLE TOOLS Fact sheets Websites Open houses Public comment Focus groups Surveys Public meetings Workshops Deliberate polling Citizen Advisory committees Participatory decision-making Citizen juries Ballots Delegated decisions Standard 2 of Australian Safety and Quality Standards for Health Care Criteria for Partnering with Consumers’ Standard: Consumer partnership in service planning Governance structures are in place to form partnerships with consumers and/or carers. Consumer partnership in designing care Consumers and/or carers are supported by the health service organisation to actively participate in the improvement of the patient experience and patient health outcomes. Consumer partnership in service measurement and evaluation Consumers and/or carers receive information on the health service organisation’s performance and contribute to the ongoing monitoring, measurement and evaluation of performance for continuous quality improvement. .