Meet your CAG members

Mission

Our purpose is to provide an independent voice that promotes, protects and partners with Gold Coast Health to provide a safe, excellent quality and timely healthcare.

Vision

We believe that the best possible health care is provided by way of a partnership between practitioners, patients and carers.  As an advocate of patient centred care, CAG strives to promote health care that is respectful of and responsive to the preferences needs and values of patients and consumers.

Strategic priorities

In order to do this we are focusing on three strategic priorities.

  1. Health Literacy – develop and educate the community (consumers and health practitioners) in health literacy
  2. Diversity and Inclusion – advocating values and practices that are inclusive of cultural background, age, gender, religious beliefs, language, disability and education.
  3. Improving the quality and perception of food - provided at the hospital to encourage nourishment and good health.
  4. Improving service standards in the Residential Aged Care - better staff/patient ratios to provide adequate care.

CAG Chair

Dr Joan Carlini

I am a Doctor in Philosophy in Marketing (corporate social responsibility), and work as lecturer in the Department of Marketing, Griffith University.

My career has encompassed international marketing and student recruitment, after leaving school I trained as a chef and worked in the hospitality industry.  

My interest in health and wellness became a focus when at age 29 I was diagnosed with MS.

After some relapses and participation in a drug trial, my symptoms are in remission.

I now have a family, and am grateful that I am well and able to share this time with them.

I believe that health and wellness is key to a happy life and I committed to working with Gold Coast Health in building a resilient and healthy Gold Coast community.

CAG Deputy Chair

Prof Margaret Shapiro

My experience with health and hospital services has been long and varied as a carer, consumer and as a passionate health advocate.

I designed and developed the public health program for older people called 60 and Better.

Working alongside community members across urban and country areas provided me with an appreciation of community health needs and expectations.

Currently I represent consumers on the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency and at Gold Coast Health on the Clinical Governance Committee and Cancer Access and Support Committees.

I am retired and hold an Honorary Professorial role at Griffith University.

CAG member profiles

Ms Helen Eager

My background includes a management Board member for YHES House (Youth Health and Education Services) Southport for over eight years and Gold Coast City Council Youth Commitment Committee for over five years.

I am currently a manager working with people with disabilities on the Gold Coast. I am actively involved in monitoring a care plan for my elderly father who receives 24 hour care in an Aged Care hospital facility.

I am a CAG member on the Human Research Ethics Committee and on Pediatric Children’s Health Leadership Team.

My main interest and passion in being a CAG member is to participate in improving the health and access to quality health services for all people across the Gold Coast.
 

Ms Nikki Fowell

I am a long-term resident of the Gold Coast, owner of local art and design practice Eveningsong Ink, and have been a member of the CAG since 2017.

With a professional background in marketing, communications and information design I have a strong interest in how information is communicated, particularly to consumers.

I would like to see improvements in communication, information and public perception within our health precinct.

I am interested in ensuring the public have the best health knowledge we can give them and our healthcare providers communicate clearly and effectively so that we are leaders in not only healthcare, but in health information.

I believe informed and educated health consumers are essential for a healthy and proactive community. I am connected to local businesses, parenting groups and community groups.

As a long term resident I am very familiar with the city and community. I represent the CAG in the Nutrition Steering Committee and Community Child Health Engagement.
 

Ms Lenka Danson

I am originally from Czech Republic and came to Australia in 2010 for a year to improve my English but fell in love with an Australian man.

I am a mother to Kaitlyn and identical triplets Noah, Lyrik and Phoenix. We spent seven months in the hospital after the triplets were born.

I became a passionate advocate for my children and interested in the hospital itself. 

Ms Lisa Hayes

I have lived on the Gold Coast for the last 25 years with my husband and three children. I also have two beautiful grandchildren. I have worked in the travel industry as an admin/payroll manager for 14 years and retired from the workforce in 2014 due to an ongoing battle with breast cancer which we have now been fighting for 19 years.

I joined the CAG team so that I can give back to the community and help make our health service one of the best in the world. I'm hoping to be able to pass on some of my own experiences that I have had with Gold Coast Health, in an endeavor to help people gain a better understanding of their own health. Also look at ways they can help to improve their health and take control, and also know some of the extra services out there for them.

In the time I have been on CAG I have learnt so much of the different services available and just what an amazing health service we have on the Gold Coast and look forward to help making it the best there is.

Jennifer Hobart

I graduated as a registered nurse in Adelaide in 1966 and spent the next 10 years is various hospitals in Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane. In 1973 I moved to the Gold Coast and spent the next 20 years bringing up our four sons and assisting in our real estate business. I decided to return to nursing and completed my post registration nursing degree at Griffith University in 1994. For the next 16 years I enjoyed interventional radiology nursing at the Gold Coast Hospital followed by two years as a scrub/scout in the day surgery clinic. Following my retirement I joined CAG towards the end of 2015 and was a member of the Chronic Disease and Wellness Forum for a year and have been a member of the End of Life Committee and the Critical Incident Review Committee for almost two years.

Karen Radcliffe

My 12 year old daughter and myself both have Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, a debilitating neurological condition. Because of this we both spend quite a bit of time as patients at the Gold Coast University Hospital and I get to see things as a patient and as a carer. We use a broad range of services across the hospital.

I founded and run a support group for patients and carers of patients with Intracranial Hypertension in Australia and New Zealand. I am currently in the process of starting a charity for this organisation as we are trying to raise more awareness of both the condition and the support that is available. I also support patients by advocating for them at appointments with Doctors and at procedures they may have.

With my role in the Consumer Advisory Group I have set up a closed Facebook page for CAG members to use to communicate with each other. I am also the consumer representative for the Medication Safety Committee. I am a member of Health Consumers Queensland.

Ms Zehnab Vayani

I migrated to Australia in 2008 with my husband and daughter. My second daughter was born in Adelaide. We came to the Gold Coast in 2012 and have lived here ever since.

As a family, we regularly need support and care provided by the wonderful pediatric service at Gold Coast University Hospital. My interest in being a member of the CAG is to bring specialist pediatric care closer to home. This is still a challenge because a lot of more complex care is still only available in Brisbane. With the Gold Coast growing so quickly it’s important that families like ours have access to more comprehensive and high quality specialist care closer to home. I'm also active in my local community and am a member of the Islamic Society of the Gold Coast. Our community includes different nationalities, cultures and languages from the across world.

Mr Dig Vijah Singh

I am a chartered accountant, who has worked in hospital setting for over 15 years. This has allowed me to get an insight into funding allocation strategies for the best patient and customer outcomes. I have been a CAG member since July 2017 and gaining an understanding of the role of consumer advisory group. I would like to see improvement in patient care and be involved in raising the awareness of the CAG. Many people in general society from various backgrounds do not understand their rights and responsibilities. The CAG seems to be the right avenue to raise concerns or help understand that health care system is for everyone but has to work within policies and guidelines to be equitable and allow emergencies to be attended to immediately.

Mr Bob Lee

In December 2005 I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s follicular lymphoma and treated using RCHOP chemotherapy, this was followed by stem cell harvest in 2006.

In 2008 it became evident that I was no longer in remission.  After consultation with my haematologist and discussions with my family I joined in a double blind placebo controlled treatment trial.

At the conclusion of trial, in late 2008, I was asked if I was interested in becoming a member of the Human Research Ethics Committee so I joined the Gold Coast Health Consumer Advisory Group. I then became a health consumer representative on various Haematology and Oncology Committees. I gladly accepted these requests and am currently a member of:

  • The Human Research Ethics Committee,
  • CBD Quality and Safety Committee, and
  • CBD Consumer Engagement Committee.
Teleah Lindenberg

I am a proud Aboriginal woman, descendant from the Maiawali and Kurawali peoples of Winton, North Queensland. I was born in Toowoomba but grew up in many places across Queensland and Northern NSW. The Gold Coast has been my home for the past 16 years where I have worked within the community. I am on the Gold Coast NAIDOC Committee, the Gold Coast Hospital Health and Service Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and a member of Indigenous Allied Health Australia. I currently work at Griffith University, where I have been employed in numerous roles for the past 9 years including a key role in the establishment of the First Peoples Health Unit. Currently I work as the project officer within the Health Group Executive. I have just completed my Graduate Certificate in Human Services.

Ms Farah Dyer-Steel

We live on Tamborine Mountain and are parenting-grandparent to an 11 year old autistic boy and have had him since he was born.

Our boy was diagnosed at the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport in 2009 when he was three and he has been assessed by the paediatric outpatient unit every year to watch over his progress.

We also visit the Gold Coast University Hospital pharmacy fairly regularly for his medication. It was explained to us that this way, we could be sure of the high quality and continued consistency of the product.

My father-in-law now has Alzheimers and underwent emergency open heart surgery at the Gold Coast University Hospital in 2015 and his recovery – in that regard – has been fantastic.

I am 55 and originally from Perth and work for the local community centre on Tamborine Mountain, assisting the elderly and infirm with their domestic requirements or just providing social support to those who are isolated.

Last updated 08 Dec 2017