This page has information for people leading and taking part in engagement activities.
We don't expect one conversation or person to represent a community. We reflect the diversity of our communities in conversations, groups and committees [1][2]. We use different ways to ways to engage different people. We listen to communities on how to engage them best.
We know some people still face significantly poorer access to health services. Those same people are often underrepresented (or not there at all) in groups, committees and projects. To have a health system that works for all of us, we need to make sure there is a diversity of experiences, identities and ideas in projects and committees. Diversity and inclusion don't just happen. They must be planned for.
Sometimes, you may be asked to take part in a different way so that someone that isn't well-represented in a conversation or committee can take part. By changing how you take part, you'll help us make sure there's even more diversity.
Here are some actions you can take across the engagement process.
When planning:
When inviting and supporting people to be included:
When doing and deciding:
When reviewing and learning:
What isn't okay is:
*We: Any reference to 'we' includes consumers, carers, staff, volunteers and anyone else working in local health districts (LHDs) and specialty health networks (SHNs), at the Ministry of Health, across the NSW pillar agencies and other NSW Health organisations. The use of this language is deliberate to show the collective effort required by all of us.