Meanwhile, long-time Western Victorian chair Susan Brumby has stepped back, and there’s news from Country to Coast, Eastern Melbourne and South Eastern NSW PHNs.
Northern Queensland PHN has launched a new mental health initiative that will make it easier for vulnerable north Queenslanders to access mental health services.
MyndKind is free and connects people with a more diverse range of flexible services and support to meet their individual needs.
It is a partnership between NQPHN and 17 service providers, funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care through the PHN.
NQPHN’s interim CEO Ben Tooth said MyndKind would support people in the greater Cairns, Townsville and Mackay regions, including rural and remote areas, who found it difficult to access mental health services.
“Its aim is to support people who face financial hardship, limited transport, and other challenges that make it hard to get the help they need – and it’s already having a positive impact on the community,” he said.
“One woman, who was unable to get out of bed, and for whom telehealth wouldn’t work, was able to access counselling from the comfort of her home. Another man met his provider in a park for his first several sessions.
“This shows the lengths that the MyndKind service providers will go to, to make sure people get the help they need.”
Throughout 2023 and 2024, NQPHN worked with more than 580 stakeholders to design MyndKind, conducting 21 group workshops, three GP focus group meetings, and 40 individual stakeholder meetings.
“Through our consultation process, we heard from people with their own mental health experiences that this initiative needed to be different; it needed to fit the person using it,” Mr Tooth said.
“The aim of MyndKind is to put people at the centre of their mental health journey, so they feel heard, understood and respected, every step of the way.
“It offers a more diverse range of services and support, and it’s flexible, which means people can get support in a group, on the phone, at home, or even at the park.
“Another main difference is that MyndKind brings together a person’s mental health team, so they don’t have to retell their story repeatedly.”
Community members can access MyndKind and a range of other supports by calling the Head to Health Phone Service, where they will be connected to support that’s right for them.
“People can access MyndKind by calling the Head to Health Phone Service or having their GP or another health professional refer them,” he said.
“MyndKind will continue to evolve based on feedback from community members and service providers.”
Western Victoria PHN
WVPHN has said goodbye to two board members at its recent AGM.
Chair Professor Susan Brumby and director Karen Foster have both completed their maximum of nine AGM.
“Everyone at WVPHN would like to thank Susan and Karen for their leadership and service, and for sharing their knowledge and expertise on our Board over the past nine years, it has been immensely appreciated by us all,” said CEO Craig Wilding.
Replacing them will be Dr Rob Grenfell, who is chief of strategy and regions at Grampians Health, and Cath Jenkins, an independent business consultant who is the current chair of Corangamite Catchment Management Authority.
A new chair will be elected at the first meeting of the new board on Friday 22 November.
WVPHN has also released its 2023-24 annual report, which is available here.
“In almost all measures the organisation exceeded previous benchmarking survey results and industry comparison results,” said Mr Wilding.
The PHN recorded a net surplus of $152,956 for the year ended 30 June 2024, almost double the previous year’s result.
The PHN received $70.6 million in government funding in 2023-24.
WVPHN’s strategic plan for 2023-2025 is available here.
Extended after-hours GP trial
Healthdirect has launched an enhanced after-hours general practitioner support trial involving 50 residential aged care homes in the Western NSW PHN’s region.
The RACH Fast Track to AHGP pilot is available for use by registered and enrolled nurses in participating RACHs, using a new dedicated phone number for RACH use only. Initial communications were sent to nominated RACF manager contacts.
The service is intended for use when:
- the patient’s condition or health concern cannot wait for the patient’s regular GP; and
- they are not unwell enough for the emergency department.
Calls are triaged and e-scripts for some medications are possible.
The pilot program offers a dedicated phone line for RACHs in the Western NSW PHN region – details are available by contacting agedcare@wnswphn.org.au;
- Callback average timeframes for tier one is 30 minutes and two hours for tier 2;
- Prescriptions are available (not S8 medications) and Healthdirect GPs cannot access eMED systems.
This service remains free of charge and is available after hours only.
For more information email agedcare@wnsw.phn.org.au.
Country to Coast PHN
Dr Peter Dobson, long-time board chair of Country to Coast PHN has stepped back from the role after 10 years following the PHN’s annual general meeting on 11 November.
Dr Dobson has handed the reins to Dr Shea Spierings, a Gaangulu man who is a research fellow at the University of Queensland, focusing on Aboriginal men’s health and covid messaging to Indigenous communities.
Dr Dobson will continue as a board director.
“I want to extend my thanks on behalf of the entire CCQ team to Peter for his leadership over the past 10 years,” said CCQ’s CEO Julie Sturgess.
“I am glad to say that Peter will still contribute his valuable insights and guidance.”
South Eastern NSW PHN
Coordinare (SENSW PHN) has won both Xref Engage’s Best Workplace and Change Champion awards for October.
According to the 2024 staff survey scores compiled by Xref, the PHN’s employees reported exceptional levels of engagement and satisfaction.
“It’s great to see that the policies and initiatives we’ve put in place to respond to the needs of our staff has resulted in greater staff satisfaction and engagement,” said CEO Prue Buist.
“We will continue to work on our priority areas for improvement, but today we celebrate our amazing team for their dedication and effort that is reflected in awards and nominations such as these.”
Xref Engage’s Best Workplace Award recognises organisations who have achieved exceptional levels of employee engagement and satisfaction as well as demonstrating effective management practices.
Coordinare exceeded the criteria of 80% or above staff satisfaction in the 2024 staff survey.
Xref Engage’s Change Champion Awards recognise organisations who achieve exceptional improvements in work practices and employee engagement over time.
Feedback from Coordinare’s employees in the 2024 survey showed an improvement of 9.8% on average per question. To qualify as a top change achiever an organisation must achieve an 8% positive change or higher.
Eastern Melbourne PHN
EMPHN is seeking a provider to deliver care navigation activities in 60 general practices in its catchment, according to the Care Navigators Program model of care, to provide better mental health care.
The selected provider will enable care navigators to identify patients, provide care coordination, and support capacity building opportunities to participating practices.
The provider will also be responsible for engaging and supporting service delivery within 60 general practices from which patients will be referred to receive care coordination services.
A briefing on the tender will be held at 2pm Melbourne time on Tuesday 19 November.
More information is available here.