Dr Coralie Wales - Principal Consultant

 We do what we do because it makes a difference - for individuals, for groups and for the population.

We bring organisations and communities together to understand what matters and how to deliver health and social care. 

We use co-design methodologies, community juries, discovery workshops to reveal common goals and principles, and rigorous evaluation approaches. I use evidence-based principles for building partnerships.

I led a three-year investigation of the experiences of consumers involved in strategic alliances with clinicians and others in service improvement activities inside public health settings in Western Sydney.  This provided an understanding about the meaning of "partnership" from the consumer point of view. This work was published in 2021. I am currently involved in research exploring partnership experiences at a primary health level. 

In 2022-2023 I led a dedicated team to organise the first Citizen Jury in an Australian Primary Health context to understand their health and social care priorities. We ran two juries for two distinct populations. Firstly, the Western Sydney First Nations population with ancestors who have lived in this land for 65,000+ years. The second was for the population that has ancestors across the globe - migrants including those with anglo-saxon-celtic backgrounds.

I graduated with a PhD from the University of Sydney in 2011.  I explored the relationship between provider and receiver of chronic pain services around Australia. Among other findings, it turns out that the relationship itself is the most important influence on outcomes for people living with chronic pain.

Awards

2023 Order of Australia medal (OAM) for Community Service.

2023 Honorary Community Fellowship Western Sydney University, NSW Australia.

2022 Adjunct Fellowship Western Sydney University, NSW Australia.

2021 Planetree Fellow in Person-Centered Care, Planetree International.

2016 University of Sydney Alumni Award for Community Service.

2015 First prize Co-design category for the poster “Nothing about me without me” - APAC forum, New Zealand.

Publications

1. Wales, C.R., et al., Consumer representative experiences of partnership with health workers in Australia. Patient Experience Journal, 2021. 8(3): p. 64-78.
2. Street, J., et al., Sharing administrative health data with private industry: A report on two citizens' juries. Health Expectations, 2021. 24(4): p. 1337-1348.
3. Wales, C., People in pain want to be believed. MJA InSight., 2018.https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2018/28/people-in-pain-want-to-be-believed/
4. Wales, C., Nathan, S., Consumer Representative experience leads an evidence-based approach for consumer engagement in Western Sydney, Australia, International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua). 2017: London.
5. Wales, C., Clarke, E,. Rophail, P., Hill, K., Nothing about me without me. The Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals Expansion Project experience. APAC Forum. Auckland. New Zealand, 2015
6. Wales, C., 10,000 Faces of Pain. Issues, 2013(102): p.38-41
7. Wales, C., L.R. Matthews, and M. Donelly, Medically unexplained chronic pain in Australia: Difficulties for rehabilitation providers and workers in pain. Work, 2010. 36(2): p. 167-179.

Other links

1. https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/knowing-consumers-and-the-community-20170927-gypgr1.html
2. https://www.vpb.nsw.gov.au/tags/dr-coralie-wales
3. https://www.openforum.com.au/interview-with-coralie-wales-president-chronic-pain-australia/
4. https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/western_sydney_university_proudly_celebrates_october_graduation 
5. https://members.digitalhealth.org.au/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=839670
6. https://sydneyhealthpartners.org.au/news/demystifying-the-health-research-experience-for-consumers/