Celebrating South Eastern Sydney Local Health District’s Commitment to Patient Experience this Patient Experience Week!

Patient Experience Week (28 April – 2 May) is a global celebration of the people and organisations making a difference in patient care. This year’s theme, Building the Foundations of Experience, recognises those driving lasting improvements for their communities.

At Quality Innovation Performance Limited (QIP), we proudly celebrate accredited organisations committed to safe, high-quality, patient-centred care. One outstanding example is South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD), whose Population and Community Health (PaCH) team is leading transformative initiatives to empower consumers, carers, and families across the district.

Covering a vibrant region from Bondi to the Royal National Park — including Sydney’s longest-functioning discrete Aboriginal community at La Perouse — SESLHD provides healthcare to around 930,000 residents. Their commitment to Collaboration, Openness, Respect, and Empowerment underpins every aspect of care delivery.

PaCH’s work is distinguished by its strong collaboration across SESLHD hospitals, mental health services, and partnerships with general practitioners, non-government organisations, and government agencies. This integrated approach ensures services are comprehensive, community-connected, and built on shared expertise.

As part of their dedication to delivering safe, high-quality care, PaCH is proudly accredited by QIP under the National Safety and Quality Primary and Community Healthcare Standards — with a particular strength in consumer engagement. Guided by the SESLHD Consumer Partnership Framework 2021–2024, PaCH has developed a comprehensive consumer engagement program, underpinned by capacity-building strategies that strengthen partnerships with consumers, carers, and communities. Central to this work is the co-designed PaCH Consumer, Carer and Community Engagement Framework and Best Practice Guide, ensuring meaningful involvement and driving continuous improvement in patient experience across all services.

In celebration of their inspiring achievements this Patient Experience Week, we spoke with Lisa Woodland, Director, Equity and Prevention Service, to explore how SESLHD is reshaping healthcare delivery and building deeper connections with their community.

Read on for our interview with Lisa Woodland, Director, Equity and Prevention Service, Population and Community Health, as she shares insights into the inspiring initiatives and commitment driving enhanced patient experience across PaCH services.

1. How does PaCH define and prioritise patient experience in the delivery of care across its services/particular service?

We believe that consumers, carers and community members are at the heart of our health system. We pride ourselves on our commitment to consumer, carer and community engagement and delivery against Standard 2 of the National Safety and Quality Primary and Community Healthcare Standards.

The codesigned PaCH Consumer Carer and Community Engagement Framework and Best Practice Guide provides the structure for how we engage with consumers, carers and the community as well as practical advice to staff, consumers, carers and community members.

The framework outlines 5 levels of engagement, from informing to co-designing and co-producing. This supports sharing information and shared decision making at all levels. This includes decisions about each individual’s health care as well as how we plan, deliver and evaluate our health services. We have demonstrated that, by working together, we can improve consumer’s experiences of the care they receive and the health of everyone in the community.

2. Can you share an example of a recent initiative that has enhanced patient experience within the directorate, and what outcomes or impact it had?

PaCH’s decentralised, distributed model of consumer engagement supports the development and delivery of a range of initiatives to enhance the patient experience, across diverse consumer and carer groups and communities.

Some examples demonstrate improved patient experience and community outcomes, include:

• The consumer led ‘My Health Checklist’, a tool to support care navigation and coordination for patients with complex and chronic conditions
• A codesigned community engagement model for working with Aboriginal communities which integrates a range of services including outreach health screening
• The Equitable Healthcare in SESLHD video, codesigned with consumers, now embedded in corporate orientation for all SESLHD staff
• Mindfulness education, initially codesigned with multicultural community members, has been adapted for survivors of Domestic and Family Violence; evaluation indicates statistical and clinically significant reduction in psychological distress.
• Codesigned cancer screening initiatives for Aboriginal and multicultural communities have increased screening rates for cervical and breast screening
• Consumers as community connectors distributing Naloxone and clean injecting equipment in community housing estates has led to uptake of health protection behaviours

3. How does PaCH ensure that feedback from patients, families, and communities informs ongoing improvements in care?

Consumers of PaCH services often have lived experience that makes accessing and engaging in healthcare challenging, this can include experiences of trauma, drug and alcohol use, homelessness, and socio-economic disadvantage. Many also experience cultural and language barriers, and/or discrimination when accessing care.

The model of consumer engagement we have codesigned to sustain engagement with our consumers is empowering and builds trust, allowing consumers to take an active role in their healthcare. Understanding what matters to consumers allows us to tailor services to better meet their needs and improve their health outcomes and social and emotional wellbeing.

Alongside patient and safety governance structures, PaCH has established the Enablers for Consumer Engagement Working Group which provides the organisational infrastructure required to support work across our range of services. This group leads work aligned to Standard 2 and enables consumer engagement leads from PaCH services to identify gaps and drive system change to support improvements in our work with consumers. The group reports to the PaCH Executive via the Director, Equity and Prevention Service.

4. Can you expand on how your core values guide your team in delivering consistent, compassionate, and high-quality experiences across your patient population?

The PaCH Consumer Carer and Community Engagement Framework and Best Practice Guide outlines our commitment to:

• Working together to improve our health services and the heath of everyone in the community
• Recognising each persons’ knowledge, skills and experience
• Treating each person with respect and dignity
• Valuing the diversity in our community

These principles are underpinned by the CORE values of NSW Health :

• Collaboration
• Openness
• Respect
• Empowerment

These principles and values are embedded in the integrated set of capacity building strategies to strengthen consumer, carer and community engagement, and transform patient experience across PaCH services.

The principles and values are supported through:

• Strong leadership
• Organisational structures such as the Enablers for Consumer Engagement Working Group,
• Minimum standards as outlined in the framework including paid participation
• Workforce training and joint professional development initiatives such as sponsoring staff and consumers to gain qualifications through Health Consumers NSW
• Resource development to promote healthcare rights to consumers and community members,
• Partnerships such as our relationship with Health Consumers NSW.

At a service level, consumers are engaged through a diverse range of consultation strategies and codesign activities to support meaningful and active collaboration between consumers and healthcare teams to improve health outcomes and shared decision making.

5. How has your participation in the Primary and Community Healthcare Standards accreditation process supported PaCH’s approach to improving patient experience and service delivery?

PaCH participated in the accreditation process very recently against the Primary and Community Healthcare Standards in March/April 2025. The accreditation process allowed us to reflect on all aspects of consumer engagement, and demonstrate our ways of working with consumers in the accreditation process. The session with the QIP Assessors, consumer, carers and community members allowed us to demonstrate our consumers ongoing involvement in PaCH services and their deep commitment to working with staff to ensure ongoing quality improvement. The process confirmed that consumer engagement is a strength of PaCH, and encouraged us to continue to explore ways of achieving excellence.

 

6. Is there any additional information regarding patient experience that you’d like to share?

Patient experience and consumer engagement is celebrated within PaCH, through governance structures, a monthly newsletter to all staff and an annual Consumer Engagement Forum. The Forum drives innovation and creates a culture of excellence around partnering with consumers to transform patient experience.

At the first forum in 2022, consumers partnered with staff to showcase consumer engagement projects and strategies recognised as being vital to address the diverse needs of our community. The innovative approach of the forum, led to positive feedback from consumers and staff and a decision to make the forum an annual event.

Since 2023, the forum has been codesigned, with a health literacy lens to ensure the forum is a true partnership and meets the needs of consumers who use our services. The innovative format is informative and entertaining and features:

• Consumers as cohosts, a consumer works with a PaCH staff member to MC the event.
• Keynote presentations and joint professional development workshops addressing issues identified by consumers and staff, such as, use of social media and health literacy.
• Dynamic five minute ‘TED talk’ style presentations led by, or codesigned with, consumers to showcase key engagement activities.
• Interactive evaluation mechanisms to capture feedback during the event, from consumers and staff and reflect this back to the audience in real time.
• Networking opportunities for consumers and staff to collaborate across a diverse range of services.

There has been a genuine sharing of successes by PaCH staff and consumers through the annual forum which provides momentum for further innovation.

 

At QIP, we’re incredibly proud to work alongside organisations like South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, whose dedication to enhancing patient experience sets a powerful example. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the entire SESLHD Population and Community Health team for their outstanding commitment to delivering compassionate, high-quality, and consumer-centred care. Your passion for co-design, innovation, and genuine partnership with your community is helping to build stronger, healthier futures for all. A special thank you to Lisa Woodland for sharing her insights and leadership — your work continues to inspire excellence across the district and beyond.

To learn more about SESLHD and PaCH visit www.seslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/