Consultancy services

We can conduct effective consultation and engagement services for your organisation

Health Consumers Queensland offers custom consulting services, using our experience in gathering and understanding people’s real stories and experiences to give useful insights into what consumers think and what they value most.

We pride ourselves on sensitive, person-centred listening and can reach into consumer groups that others find difficult to hear from.

Health Consumers Queensland is available to design and deliver health-related consultations including:

  • Strategic advice to get your project started on the right foot
  • Full project management
  • Project preparation support, such as assistance writing consultation questions and host briefing papers
  • Training, mentoring and support for consumer hosts
  • Outcomes data analysis and report writing
  • Remuneration and reimbursement of hosts and participants​

We work with a variety of clients, including healthcare providers, researchers, government agencies and NGOs. Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your project.

Our signature methods

Yarning Circles

Health Consumers Queensland’s Yarning Circles explicitly draw their practices from traditional Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander yarning circles, merged with Kitchen Table Discussion methods. They aim to make consultation with First Nations communities a culturally safe and approachable space.

Our Yarning Circles engage and celebrate the connectedness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to each other, to Country, to storylines, to knowledge systems and shared lived experiences to enable sensitive issues to emerge and be explored.

Kitchen Table Discussions

Kitchen Table Discussions (or KTDs) are small, informal events where groups of up to 10 people discuss questions on a particular topic. It’s one way that health organisations can hear from a wider range of people than they normally would.

KTDs are led by local people for local people. They allow people to share their views and experiences in a way that is comfortable for them, and at a time of day and place that suits them. KTDs help people who do not ordinarily participate in healthcare consultation to have their say in a safe and supportive environment.

Training

We can provide bespoke consumer partnerships training for your organisation and the consumers you partner with.

Health Consumers Queensland is here to help healthcare staff and patients work together in a friendly and respectful way. We want to give patients and their caregivers the tools to speak up and make a difference for themselves and others who use healthcare services.

We offer training to patients to help them get involved in various ways and to understand their rights and responsibilities. We also provide training for healthcare staff to help them understand how to work with patients better.

Our training sessions are designed to be easygoing and supportive. We want everyone to feel confident sharing their thoughts and ideas. We believe this friendly approach helps build better partnerships in healthcare.

Contact us to discuss your training needs.

These are wonderful as always [..] please pass on our gratitude to everyone involved. The information is rich and powerful, much appreciated.

Shyla Mills

Former CEO, Palliative Care Qld

Great session, great length and everyone was able to have the opportunity to speak and have input. Thank you!

Consumer participant

Focus group consultation