Julian’s Key Passport was initially designed for individuals with an intellectual or cognitive disability.
This passport idea came about as a result of of a young man named Julian who had a disability but unfortunately passed away in 2011 at Ipswich Hospital. The West Moreton Hospital and Health system decided to develop the passport where it has since been trialed for two years at Ipswich and Logan Hospitals.
While the trial was completed in 2021, the recommendations from the trial are currently being implemented by Queensland Health.
Your Information – Kept in Your Control
The passport is a live document that can be updated at any time.
It allows for more effective communication between the patient, carer and families and the health care teams. This encourages greater involvement from all parties to ensure that a more informed person-centred care is provided.
It’s purpose is to provide critical and useful information to health professionals, or anyone having interaction with the owner of the passport. You decide on the information that goes in the passport and who it is shared with. It remains your property and should remain in your possession (or your carer’s) once the information has been used and should not be kept on file once you are discharged from a hospital setting.
It’s a tool that can be used beyond a hospital setting, in any health care setting, or in any situation where the passport owner doesn’t have the ability to communicate themselves.
For example, it could be used someone is travelling and feeling an episode coming on during a flight. It would give the cabin crew the information they required about what these episodes look like and whether they need to seek medical assistance.
Traffic Light System
The traffic light system that has been used is a great way to inform the health professionals on what is important to provide person-centred care.
- RED: the critical information that needs to be communicated about the individual.
- YELLOW: useful information about the individual.
- GREEN: likes and dislikes of the individual.
How to Access Julian’s Key Health Passport
The passport is available to download: Passport (PDF 1201 kB) or mobile phone app available on Apple Store and Google Play Store. You search by typing ‘ Julian’s Key’.
There are QR codes that can be scanned to find the ‘Julian’s Key’ App:
Why use Julian’s Key Health Passport for FND?
This tool can be easily adapted to the individuals needs i.e.: one for hospital admissions, etc. and one for everyday use by simplifying the contents.
Since everyone who has FND has such varied symptoms, this could be a very useful tool to help receive the best possible care when accessing health services. It assists with minimising stress for individuals when communication is difficult as well as providing information that doesn’t have to be continually repeated by the passport owner.
The passport and its implementation within the Health System is still be ongoing. However, if we as an FND community can bring something into our lives that can assist in greater FND Awareness, then it’s a brighter day in every aspect.
Additional Resources
The recommendations from the evaluation can be found in Julian’s Key Evaluation Factsheet.
Julian’s Key Hospital Procedure is a document to guide clinical staff on how to implement Julian’s Key across health care settings.
Contact Details
For more information on Julian’s Key Health Passport, you can contact Melanie Nicholls, A/Manager, Strategic Policy and Legislation Branch: [email protected] or ph 07 3708 5601
For other strategies and resources, click on the Resources tab at the top. If you have any helpful resources to share, please drop us a line at [email protected].
