Murray PHN eNews #83 | Announcing chronic disease initiatives   

New funding for heart and lung diseases

Today Murray PHN has announced the successful  tenders for the commissioning of almost $3 million in services to support chronic disease services in our community.

Bendigo Health Care Group, Swan Hill District Health, Cobaw Community Health, Alpine Health and Robinvale District Health Service are among a range of local organisations receiving grants of more than $80,000 to invest in pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation clinics, improve quality of chronic illness care and help develop the primary health workforce.

Additionally, Lung Foundation Australia will implement a workforce training and development program with 14 health services across our region, integrate treatment plans in general practice and trial a new model of pulmonary exercise programs in central Victoria.

Other successful tenders include Sunraysia Community Health Services, Northern District Community Health Service, North East General Practice Services, Primary Care Connect, Northeast Health Wangaratta, and Numurkah District Health Service.

The 12 successful tenderers will carry out their work through partnerships with more than 50 rural and regional hospitals, health services, GP practices, universities and peak bodies.

The Federal Government's funding of primary care has undergone a seismic shift. To improve regional health outcomes, we need to fund services that demonstrate best practice, evidence-based models of care while reducing avoidable hospitalisations over time.

This was the first major tender process Murray PHN has carried out under the new commissioning model. The tenders were assessed by a panel with members from Murray PHN and the Department of Health and Human Services, advised by experts from cardiac and pulmonary peak bodies.

Murray PHN will be issuing new tenders for mental health service funding before the end of the year.

Matt Jones, CEO.

Mental digital health gateway
The new mental health digital gateway 'Head to Health' was launched on 7 October. The  website  makes it easier for people to access free or low-cost Australian digital mental health services from a centralised point. It has been developed in collaboration with people with mental illness and their carers, the community, mental health professionals and digital service providers.

Pictured is Jo Rasmussen, Murray PHN Strategic Projects Coordinator who has been part of the consumer and carers team and is a member of the advisory group. Jo has worked on the gateway for the past 18 months and says that it has been a major recognition of the importance of having the users of a system involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of system/service change.

The purpose of the gateway is to find Australian government funded digital mental health resources (not  local service providers). It can be used as a complement to face-to-face therapies, and encourages people to seek support in times of need, or when it is most convenient for them. Future website enhancements will include  offering greater support to health professionals to assist them in meeting the needs of their patients.

Doctors in Secondary Schools Program update
Murray PHN has partnered with the Department of Education and Training (DET) to deliver adolescent health trained general practitioners to 22 secondary schools in the region as part of the Victorian Government's Doctors in Secondary Schools pilot program.

The program is aimed at making primary health care more accessible to students, provide assistance to young people so they can identify and address health problems early, and reduce pressure on working parents and community-based GPs.

Under tranches one and two of the program, eleven schools have now commenced or had a clinic appointed.   Murray PHN was the first PHN to meet this target. The remaining schools 'tranche 3' will have  clinics appointed before the end of the year and these will commence in term 1, 2018.

Last week Benalla P-12 College was the latest school in our catchment to begin offering the program.

Pictured left to right: Richard McClelland - Murray PHN Executive Director North East, Shellie Davis - Benalla Church Street Surgery nurse, Barbara O'Brien - Benalla P-12 College Principal, Penny Bolton - Murray PHN Doctors in Secondary Schools Program Coordinator.

Murray PHN also farewelled Richard last week, and thank him for his contribution to primary health care in the North East and wish him well in the future as his career soars in a new direction. Recruitment is now underway to find a suitable replacement (see Murray PHN jobs in this newsletter for more information).

Responses to first Health Voices survey
We now have over 300 Health Voices from Ouyen to Corryong and Birchip to Mansfield. If you haven't yet registered it's easy to do so and will enable you to tell us what's important to you, and your local community when it comes to health. The responses we received to our first (and ongoing survey) have been themed, and over half of our Health Voices shared their experiences with us, giving us local  knowledge and insight. Click here to see the full results.