Reflections on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic often evoke the concept of ‘resilience’ to describe the way health systems adjusted and adapted their functions to withstand the disturbance of a crisis. As an integral part of the health system, health consumer representatives in New South Wales (NSW) played a crucial role in bringing the voices of patients, carers and the wider community to the pandemic response – but not in the way they expected.

We interviewed 30 consumer representatives from diverse backgrounds and communities across NSW. They shared their experiences, challenges and innovative strategies of self-organisation and community mobilisation.

The study showed that the stress of the pandemic revealed the brittleness of pre-existing consumer engagement structures and processes. Yet, the remarkable momentum of consumer-led activities created space for consumer representatives to reset and reimagine their role as active partners in health services. The pandemic has served as a backdrop for important transformations in the consumer engagement space – now and into the future.

Speakers:

Dr Patti Shih, University of Wollongong

Laila Hallam, Consumer Representative

A/Prof. Robyn Clay-Williams, Macquarie University

Dr Anthony Brown, Executive Director, Health Consumers NSW

Prof. Stacy Carter, University of Wollongong

ACHEEV: https://www.uow.edu.au/the-arts-social-sciences-humanities/research/acheev/

HCNSW: https://www.hcnsw.org.au/