WA Primary Health Alliance acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Owners and Elders of this country and recognises the significant importance of their cultural heritage, values and beliefs and how these contribute to the positive health and wellbeing of the whole community. Service Provider Connect #96 - 13 March 2024 In this edition:
Executive General Manager's foreword
Procurement and contracting - Development of Integrated Healthcare Precincts in Bunbury and Armadale
- After-hours program update
- Digital mental health services help bridge gaps
- WA Primary Health Alliance contracts and procurement team update
Strategic update - Priorities, the year ahead
General resources and information - Make the call on your mental health today
- Release of PHN Multicultural Health Framework
- WA Primary Health Alliance Service Provider Panel February 2024 summary
- Australian National Audit Office Report on the Review of the Effectiveness of the Department of Health and Aged Care’s Performance Management of Primary Health Networks
- Inform ECU research to support people bereaved by suicide in the South West Region
- Grant Opportunity - SARRAH Transition to Remote and Rural Allied Health Practice Toolkit
- New palliative care resources to support planning, grief and loss
News and media - Building suicide prevention capacity in the Goldfields
Training and events - Healthy Weight Masterclass: The role of diet and exercise – sustainable interventions for long-term adherence
- Mental health Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) training sessions
Resources - Commissioning policies and procedures
- Previous editions of Service Provider Connect
Executive General Manager's foreword
Mental health issues and the use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) is having an increasing impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities in Western Australia. The services many of you deliver play an important role in supporting those in need.
WA Primary Health Alliance’s (WAPHA) newly released Mental Health Strategy 2023-2026 and Alcohol and other Drug Strategy 2023-2026 have been developed to complement our Strategic Plan 2023-2026 and outline the principles that underpin our approach to commissioning and how we intend to achieve our mission through the mental health and AOD lens.
In our role as a commissioner of mental health and alcohol and other drug services, WAPHA is committed to: - Increasing timely access to primary mental health care and AOD treatment and support for people in under-serviced groups and/or experiencing locational disadvantage.
- Continuously improving the safety and quality of primary mental health care and AOD treatment and support services.
- Increasing the skills and capacity of the primary health care and specialist AOD workforce to respond effectively to current and emerging alcohol and other drug related harms.
- Enhancing efficiency and improving the experience and outcomes of people accessing services, by working with partners to reduce fragmentation between general practices and other services.
Thank you to all our commissioned services for your commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of Western Australians.
Regards,
Mark Cockayne Executive General Manager Commissioned Services Procurement and Contracting Development of Integrated Healthcare Precincts in Bunbury and Armadale
Integrated Healthcare Precincts in priority locations aim to enhance integration at a local level and direct funding where it will deliver the most impact. The Integrated Healthcare Precincts approach involves several primary health care organisations, including general practice, in a specific location, working together in a coordinated way. The aim is to improve referral pathways, enable efficiencies and to improve the experience of individuals accessing services and maximise health outcomes.
WAPHA is supporting commissioned service providers to develop a precinct to optimise care for people with mental health issues and other multiple long term health conditions while building on the capacity and capability of existing health care provision.
Armadale and Bunbury have been identified as priority areas using a range of data and localised health care information and WAPHA will be supporting precinct development in these areas.
After-hours program update
To address the social determinants of health and structural barriers impacting access to primary health care services, the Department of Health and Aged Care’s After-hours program was divided into three separate programs – After-Hours, Multicultural Access, and Homelessness Support.
WAPHA submitted grant applications across the three programs and was successful in securing funds to conduct formal needs assessments in 2023-2024. The proposed needs assessments will provide information on priority locations, services, and populations to inform commissioning within the scope of the PHN guidelines.
Impact Co. has been contracted to conduct the three needs assessments across WA PHNs. The findings and final report will inform the next round of funding submissions in mid-2024. Digital mental health services help bridge gaps
Two exciting digital mental health services, e-Friend and MOST, are being launched in Western Australia (WA) this year, reflecting WA Primary Health Alliance’s commitment to innovation in the commissioning of mental health services.
Our Strategic Plan 2023-2026 recognises digitally enabled health care as a strategic goal, and both of these services reflect WA Primary Health Alliance’s intention to support secure digitally enabled health care with partners locally and nationally.
The WA trial of e-Friend is underway, a partnership between Independent Community Living Australia and Mindspot GP, the latter operated by Macquarie University Health Sciences Centre.
eFriend provides lived experience peer support to help people with their mental health needs. The service allows people who are feeling low, lonely or isolated to access virtual peer support sessions via video or phone call.
This is the first time a combined clinical-lived experience peer approach is being offered within an online clinical mental health service in Australia.
e-Friend is free for people aged over 18 years already participating in a Mindspot GP psychological treatment course and who would benefit from the added peer support intervention.
MOST is a free digital mental health support service for young people aged 12 to 25 that provides personalised clinical and peer moderated therapy when and where young people need it, integrating digital care with the young person’s broader care team.
MOST is being rolled out during 2024 and will initially be available to young people accessing WA’s 21 headspace services.
Delivered by Orygen Digital, the technology division of Orygen, Australia’s national centre of excellence in youth mental health research and clinical care, MOST will be supported by a local team on the ground that will work closely with WA’s headspace Lead Agencies and local stakeholders. WA Primary Health Alliance contracts and procurement team updateWe highlighted in a previous edition of Service Provider Connect that the WAPHA contracts and procurement team is presently undertaking recruitment for some key roles.
This is placing an increased burden on contract management responsibilities across the team, and it is hoped will be short-lived.
As a commissioned service provider you may experience a change of contract manager in the short term which will be communicated to you if affected.
Your understanding and patience at this time is appreciated.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to make contact with me via Mark.Cockayne@wapha.org.au Strategic update Priorities, the year ahead
As the operator of WA’s three Primary Health Networks, WAPHA has a role to play in driving primary health care reform, and supporting our commissioned service providers, general practice, aged care and allied health to navigate it. Executive General Manager - Strategy and Engagement, Chris Kane, discusses the organisation's priorities for this year as we pursue health equity in WA.
Read more
General Information Make the call on your mental health today
WAPHA recently launched Make the call on your mental health today, a campaign to raise awareness of the free Head to Health national mental health phone line (1800 595 212), available statewide in WA. The campaign will be active throughout 2024, using a mix of promotional channels, including search engine marketing, social media and radio.
Initially, the campaign will geo-target communities within Swan, Armadale, Goldfields-Esperance and Bunbury-Manjimup regions, some of which have a Head to Health Centre and all of which have been identified as having a high need for mental health care. As a result of the campaign, we expect to see an uplift in patients asking their GP about Head to Health and a commensurate increase in referrals and/or presentations to primary mental health care services.
Release of PHN Multicultural Health FrameworkWe are pleased to share the newly developed PHN Multicultural Health Framework which aims to improve health and wellbeing outcomes and experiences for multicultural communities across all PHN regions in Australia.
Development involved review of existing frameworks and guidelines including those already developed by PHNs and key sector leaders including Mental Health Australia, Migrant and Refugee Health Partnership, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, and the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health.
This includes WAPHA’s recently launched Multicultural Competency and Capability Framework which supports how we, along with our commissioned service providers and primary health care services, can become more culturally competent.
While this tool is specifically for PHNs, it has a strong focus on collaboration across the health system and other sectors and so we wanted to make sure you are aware of this Framework.
The Framework provides high-level guidance and best practice actions to support PHNs to deliver locally informed and relevant responses in partnership with other stakeholders.
The Framework was developed by representatives from approximately 20 PHNs including members of the: - PHN Multicultural Health Framework Working Group and
- National PHN Cultural Diversity Community of Practice.
A national webinar will be held on 25 March at 2pm AEDT to provide more information about the PHN Multicultural Health Framework.
For more information, please contact susan.kay@wapha.org.au or Kerry.saunders@wapha.org.au WA Primary Health Alliance Service Provider Panel February 2024 summaryThe WAPHA Service Provider Panel met in February 2024 to discuss primary health care workforce and the impacts of maldistribution and shortages.
Participants represented a range of service sizes and types, with representation from all seven country regions and the metropolitan area.
Key themes that emerged from the session included: - Managing the cost of recruitment, staff retention, training and induction is complex and challenging.
- There is opportunity for increased integration between providers and WAPHA has a key role in facilitating this across WA.
- CPI and indexation continue to be a challenge for service providers to navigate.
WAPHA will continue to engage and work with service providers in addressing these challenges.
Read more Australian National Audit Office Report on the Review of the Effectiveness of the Department of Health and Aged Care’s Performance Management of Primary Health Networks
WAPHA acknowledges the release of the recommendations from the review conducted by the Australian National Audit Office into the Department of Health and Aged Care’s (DHAC) Performance Management of Primary Health Networks.
The review was timely, given the significant and sustained growth in the services delivered by the national network of PHNs in recent years.
Across Australia, PHNs play a critical role in commissioning health services, building the capacity of the primary health care workforce and coordinating health services at a local level. Additionally, enabled by the national PHN Cooperative, PHNs work together to drive innovation, promote best practice in commissioning and capacity building and share resources and information.
At all times, the PHN Cooperative and individual PHNs work collaboratively with the DHAC to ensure the application of best practice governance standards to deliver value for money health services for people within our communities, particularly those most at risk of poor health outcomes.
WAPHA looks forward to working with the DHAC as it implements the recommendations from the report, and we will continue to share relevant information with you as this work progresses.
Notably the audit highlighted a number of issues with regard to performance reporting as it relates to grants and contracted services, with the view that the PHN program moves towards outcomes and impact. Thus, we would in time expect that there will be a flow on to commissioned service providers in the nature of contractual obligations for reporting. We will seek to keep you up to date as these elements of the PHN program are developed. Inform ECU research to support people bereaved by suicide in the South West region
Edith Cowan University is undertaking research to investigate current practices and perspectives in suicide postvention in the South West Region of Western Australia. The research aims to better understand the current practices of health and other community service providers in the South West, working with people and communities bereaved by suicide and identify potential strategies for strengthening this work.
Download the Participant Information Sheet and the access the survey here. If you would like more information about the project, contact Colleen Carlon on 08 9780 7658 or email c.m.carlon@ecu.edu.au.
Grant opportunity - SARRAH transition to remote and rural allied health practice toolkit
Rural Health West are sponsoring 20 recent graduate allied health professionals to receive the SARRAH Transition to Remote and Rural Allied Health Practice Toolkit for 2024. This Toolkit is a wealth of information, expertise, and connections in remote and rural allied health.
If you're an early career health practitioner, considering rural or remote practice, or a student or teacher in allied health, this Toolkit is for you. It will build your understanding and readiness for a career in rural health.
Express your interest by email to nmdah@ruralhw.com.au.
New palliative care resources to support planning, grief and loss To support those navigating the challenges that come with approaching end of life, WAPHA through its Greater Choices for At Home Palliative Care initiative, has partnered with Palliative Care WA (PCWA) to produce two new booklets, Palliative Caring and My Palliative Care.
Developed in consultation with a panel of palliative care professionals and endorsed by WAPHA’s multicultural and LGBTIQA+ reference groups, the booklets cover a variety of topics including planning, decision making, rural and remote considerations, caring at home and grief.
The booklets launched on 6 March 2024, and are available to order as a hard copy or to download from the PCWA website. For more information, contact info@palliativecarewa.asn.au or phone 1300 551 704.
News and media Building suicide prevention capacity in the Goldfields
Following a busy year of stakeholder engagement, asset mapping, data analysis and collaborations with priority populations, the Black Dog Institute's Suicide Prevention Capacity Building Program has now come to a completion in the Goldfields.
WAPHA partnered with the Black Dog Institute and Hope Community Services, which employs a suicide prevention coordinator funded by the Western Australian Mental Health Commission, to implement the program in the Goldfields.
Read more |
