Adjunct Professor Bernice Redley has been appointed as Victoria’s new Health Complaints Commissioner, bringing extensive experience in patient care, quality and safety to the role.
The Health Complaints Commissioner’s role and office were established under the Health Complaints Act 2016 (the Act) which commenced operation in Victoria on 1 February 2017.
Professor Redley is a highly respected health academic, with leadership experience across the university, health service and government sectors.
She comes from her previous role at the Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research in the Institute for Health Transformation at Deakin University and Monash Health and has led clinical and academic patient safety research – including on preventing harm during hospitalisation, consumer participation in healthcare, interprofessional teamwork and use of technology to support healthcare.
Professor Redley will lead the organisation in managing complaints and driving improvements across Victoria’s health system and play a critical role as we continue to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
The Commissioner’s responsibilities include resolving complaints about healthcare and the handling of health information in Victoria, publishing complaint handling standards, providing information and education to health service providers and the public, and conducting and supporting research to improve health service quality.
“I look forward to this new important role and using my knowledge and experience to help resolve complaints, respond to issues and drive improvements across the health system.”