Matiu Bush, Better Care Victoria board: the importance of innovation and redesigning hospital care
Better Care Victoria (BCV) was launched by the Victorian State Government in November 2015, to improve efficiency and outcomes of patient care across the state, through supporting innovative practices in our health services. As part of this, BCV’s Innovation Fund was established to support the sector to identify, scale and embed innovation in health organisations, through investing in sector-led innovation and improvement projects and fostering the sharing of innovative ideas.
The BCV board is a group of clinical and non-clinical advisors, whose role is to advise the Minister for Health and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on health sector innovation. The board also provides recommendations on the most effective ways to invest the BCV Innovation Fund to drive improvement.
Matiu Bush is a member of the BCV board and his primary motivation to take on the role was to bring stories ‘from the frontline’ to the table.
“I can bring the experiences I see every day. Having a seat at that table amongst other clinicians, who are actively involved in innovation, means we’re getting real-life examples to the Minister,” says Matiu.
With more than two decades of experience in a diverse range of health care settings, his expertise is essential when it comes to thinking through practical, scalable solutions.
“We have to be system thinkers and system leaders. We all try to see the interconnectedness of the health care system. We strive to get the maximum benefit for the most people when deciding where to invest time and energy in innovations.”
Matiu’s passion for care began early and right at the frontline, with five years spent volunteering for Missionaries of Charity alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India and Tijuana, Mexico. It was then that his professional career began and after completing his nursing degree, he became an emergency and intensive care nurse, working also in oncology and HIV palliative care. Matiu then took on a role at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre for four years.
After more than a decade of hands-on roles in some of healthcare's most challenging settings, Matiu was more than prepared for managerial roles and his path towards the BCV Board began. As a manager of specialist clinics and nurses, and a redesigning care consultant in major hospitals in Australia, Matiu has been able to gain a comprehensive understanding of the need for an innovative and patient focused approach. He is now Design Integration Lead at Bolton Clarke, facilitating the transformation of independent living services and care experiences for older Australians.
Along with his role as board member, Matiu is also on the Emerging Leaders Clinical Advisory Committee. “That was my first experience of BCV and I was motivated to apply for the board because I truly believe the Victorian Government is listening. There’s a spirit of engaging with clinicians and getting robust advice on the system as a whole.”
Matiu is a staunch advocate for innovation in health care and believes that inherently inefficient systems must transform to keep up with Australia’s changing demographic. “It’s not an option anymore, to not innovate. We don’t have a shortage of clinicians; we have inefficient systems that need to change if our services are going to meet the demands of tomorrow”.
Matiu makes the distinction that technology facilitates great opportunity for personalised care, as opposed to ‘in person’ care. Telehealth services are a great and simple example; bridging gaps in the systems and connecting patients to care in ways that work for them in real and practical ways.” When we focus on the patient experience and restore humanity to the system, you increase the wellbeing of the patients that we treat. A good patient experience helps people heal better because we don’t cause them distress by being subjected to inefficient systems.”
BCV is focused on ensuring the upscaling of innovation, identifying innovative solutions that work in a specific situation and breathing life into their potential for broader scale implementation.