Mount Martha Valley resident, Rose, is excited to be part of Royal Freemasons’ Consumer Advisory Body (CAB), a committee that provides a source of meaningful engagement with our consumers and their representatives.
She is one of the 11 members that make up the CAB, which includes other residents from our homes, In-home Support clients, representatives who have expressed an interest in being an advocate for their sites, and management.
The CAB meets quarterly, giving members a forum to raise issues and suggest improvements across care and services, food, activities, daily living, safety and communication. It also serves as a consultative group for management decisions and plays an important role in helping ensure our organisation remains person-centred and accountable.
Rose has been on the CAB since the beginning of the year and brings to the group five years of lived experience as a resident as well as experience as a family member from when her mother was also a resident at Mount Martha Valley.
“Most of my ideas that I bring to the CAB are based on my experience as a resident — my care, the food, and how the home is managed,” says Rose. “I’m quite an outgoing person who likes to be involved in things, especially if it includes the betterment of our village; I like to be part of it.”
Royal Freemasons’ Chief Quality and Innovation Officer Joanne Cross, who heads the CAB, has a clear vision of what she wants to achieve through the group, which is to strengthen the consumer voice to create improvements that benefit residents and In-home Support clients.
“What we strive to achieve through the CAB is continuous improvement and ensuring our services are responsive, inclusive and consumer centred. At Royal Freemasons we foster a culture where feedback is valued and acted upon, and the CAB provides an opportunity to continue building trusting, transparent and strong relationships between management and consumers.”
So far, the CAB has made many positive changes in response to resident feedback including introducing improved menu options and activities that are more aligned with resident interests. They have also established better communications systems with regular resident newsletters, updates and meetings. Changes have also been made to the environment at many of our residential aged care sites with upgrades to seating areas, signage and lighting.
While Rose is still relatively new to the CAB, she is passionate about enhancing the care experience for the Mount Martha Valley residents who she represents.
“I hope that my ideas are practical and will help residents at Mount Martha Valley and our other homes to live well. For example, I would like to update some of our equipment — anything that will help the residents is a plus.”
If you would like to find out more or join our Consumer Advisory Body, visit: royalfreemasons.org.au/consumer-advisory-body
