Executive General Manager's foreword

To enhance efficiency, improve service delivery and strengthen our partnerships with our commission service providers, we have made changes within our procurement and contract management team. These include:

• Changes to our team to better align with our strategic goals - This includes the introduction of new specific procurement specialist roles and responsibilities to ensure a more streamlined and effective procurement process.

• Updating our procurement and contract management processes to include new templates, guidelines, and escalation procedures - This will help us manage contracts more effectively and ensure consistency across all service contracts.

• Implementing new communication plans and reporting tools to provide greater visibility of our procurement activities. This includes regular updates and dashboards to keep you informed about our progress and any changes that may affect you.

• Moving forward, you may be liaising with different contract managers depending on the contracts you have. This change is intended to provide greater expertise and consistency across service contracts.

• Our program improvement team will be incorporated into the procurement and contract management team. This new structure will strengthen our oversight and management of our commissioned service providers and ensure a streamlined function for procurement, contract management, performance, and improvement.

Our team will be reaching out to you with further information and to address any questions you may have.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support during this transition.

Kind regards

Mark Cockayne

Executive General Manager Commissioned Services

General information

Mental health providers - Changes to Power BI reports within Commissioned Services Reporting Portal 

To improve usability for mental health commissioned service providers, we have made changes to two mental health Power BI reports within the Commissioned Services Reporting Portal (Portal).

•  The PMHC-MDS Data Quality Report will soon be accessible in the reports section of the  Portal. This report provides insight into data quality and completeness of the information    uploaded by mental health providers to the PMHC-MDS. It is organised by overview, missing and invalid data, data correctness, data anomalies, and timeliness of submissions.

•  In the coming weeks, performance against KPIs for the previous financial year can be viewed by clicking on the FY 23-24 button on the Balanced Scorecard

The user guide for these reports is accessible within the Portal under the resources menu and will be updated in the coming weeks to incorporate these changes. Please reach out to your contract manager if you have any questions or require further details.

Depression starts small, get help before it grows 

Depression starts small, get help before it grows is the latest campaign from WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) designed to raise awareness of the early symptoms of depression and promote help seeking behaviours.

WAPHA is pleased to share a supporter kit and downloadable videos and a poster for organisations to use in support of this campaign to spread further awareness.

WAPHA launches refreshed Stakeholder Engagement Framework

Stakeholder engagement is everyone’s business at WAPHA and building a strong culture of engagement practice, underpinned by our Framework, enables us to engage with our stakeholders consistently, inclusively and effectively. In WAPHA’s ongoing commitment to authentic partnerships and purposeful engagement to progress our strategic priorities, we have recently refreshed our Stakeholder Engagement Framework.

Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce - Scope of Practice Review Final Report 

The Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce – Scope of Practice Review Final Report was released on 5 November.

WAPHA provided input throughout the review process, with contribution to a PHN Cooperative submission in October 2023, and representation at stakeholder consultation forums in phases two and three.

There may be further opportunity for WAPHA to support general practice and other health providers to access or embed innovative multidisciplinary models of care and referral pathways, utilising new funding models and supporting better understanding of the role of allied health professionals in primary health.

Have your say on the Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs Strategy 2025-2030

The Mental Health Commission Is leading the development of a new Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Strategy 2025-2030 and Outcomes Measurement Framework, that will set the whole-of-system priorities for both mental health and alcohol and other drugs over the next five years.

Feedback on the Discussion Paper will inform development of the Strategy, seeking to build upon what has been identified through previous consultation processes, as well as uncover new insights and priorities for action.

Launch of new and improved online resources library for mental health carers 

Helping Minds is excited to announce the launch of the revamped Online Resource Library for Mental Health Families, Carers, and Kin by Mental Health Carers Australia. This free online library has been redesigned with a fresh look and enhanced accessibility to better support carers and those working in carer-inclusive practice.

Have your say on education and training for the sexual health workforce 

The National Needs Assessment of the Blood-borne Virus and Sexual Health Workforce is a valuable opportunity for health care professionals working across the HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, mpox, and/or syphilis disease areas to contribute to the future of continuing professional development training and education.

Youth suicidality risk relative to ambient temperature and heatwaves across climate zones: A time series analysis of emergency department presentations in New South Wales, Australia

A study recently published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry explored the link between youth suicidality prevalence and hot weather severity. They concluded there is a positive linear association between ambient temperature and youth suicidality presentations to emergency departments. Risks are increased on single hot days, not only during heatwaves. Public health, broader societal approaches to heat and health system planning should consider impacts on youth suicidality of predicted increases in hot weather severity and frequency.

News and media 

WAPHA Board tours Bunbury

While attending WAPHA’s recent Board meeting hosted in the Bunbury office, the Board and staff based in the State’s South West discussed the impact of locally based staff in the regions and the valuable insight they provide into system and service integration and collaboration opportunities. 

Members of the Board also took the opportunity to visit the Bunbury Medicare Urgent Care Clinic and headspace Bunbury.

Bunbury Medicare Urgent Care Clinic

Since opening in November 2023, Bunbury Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has had 15,329 presentations.

37 per cent of patients indicated they would have otherwise gone to the emergency department, with 4 per cent requiring referral to the emergency department.  This aligns well to the intended outcomes of the Australian Government’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinic policy.

headspace Bunbury

In 2023-24 headspace Bunbury supported 817 young people over 3677 sessions.

headspace Bunbury satellite services, headspace Margaret River supported 306 young people over 1503 sessions in 2023-24 while headspace Busselton supported 242 young people over 931 sessions.  These headspace services are evidence based and meet the evolving and unique needs of young people in the regional areas, and those who support them.

Dr Damian Zilm, Board Director, WAPHA, Nellie Streeter, Nurse Manager, and Dr Craig Hookham, Practice Principal, The Health Hub at Eaton Fair, Dr Richard Choong, Board Chair, WAPHA at Bunbury Medicare Urgent Care Clinic

Supporting Aboriginal people with elevated weight through yarning 

To improve cultural safety in care for Aboriginal people living with elevated weight, WAPHA has launched two videos for primary health care practitioners focused on enhancing communication and fostering trust through social yarning and management yarning.

New additions to WAPHA's SHAPE website, Yarning about weight: Building trust through social yarning and Yarning about weight: Setting goals and supporting change through management yarning offer practical techniques to create a more supportive and culturally safe environment for Aboriginal people to discuss their weight-related health concerns

Advancing Equity Summit

WAPHA Principal Advisor and Research Director, Dr Daniel Rock, recently attended the Advancing Equity Summit in Noosa co-hosted by Country to Coast PHN Queensland and the Equity CoLab.

The Summit focused on addressing disparities and promoting health equity. Dr Michael McPhee, President of PolicyLink delivered the keynote address, highlighting the historical roots of inequity and the challenges in creating an equitable economy, healthy communities of opportunity, and a just society by elevating what works and ensuring that all people can participate and prosper.

Dr McPhee emphasised the importance of prefigurative practice, which involves applying future social, political, and economic conditions in the present. Essentially, it involves individuals and organisations enacting the values and structures of the future society they want to create, right now, and building these into the organisation’s DNA.

For this, he stressed the need for organisations to develop data-supported decision-making approaches and involve community members and regional stakeholders in data collection and interpretation. This approach helps build trust and sustain collaborative efforts to tackle health and social inequities at local and regional levels.

His keynote address foreshadowed the broad range of topics covered in detail in the various talks and workshops during the Summit.

Health equity guides what we do at WAPHA, from strategic planning and capacity building to deliberate and targeted commissioning of primary health care services. The data we gather and analyse is critical in ensuring our approach to commissioning and primary health care support is both evidence-based and targeted. 

DBTeen providing unique support to teenagers and families for five years 

Lifeline program DBTeen, designed to help teens change unhelpful thinking and behaviour and manage their emotions has celebrated five years of providing early intervention for teenagers experiencing mental health difficulties.

Read more

Procurement and training 

The tender for Youth Enhanced Service – Country 2024-23, released on 15 October 2024, has been retracted. This will allow WAPHA to review and update the tender requirements to better meet the project goals. We intend to reissue the revised tender within the coming two weeks and appreciate your understanding and look forward to your continued participation.

Register to be notified of upcoming tenders.

Training and events 

Resources