Parkinson’s NSW seeks Specialist Neurological Nurses for Medicare Locals

Issue

Parkinson’s NSW is seeking to have each Medicare Local employ a specialist neurological nurse to provide primary health care for its community, particularly in regional areas of New South Wales.

Response

Medicare Locals are primary health care organisations and are a key component of National Health Reform. A national network of 61 Medicare Locals has been established and is working with local primary health care providers, Local Hospital Networks, aged care providers, and communities, to integrate and strengthen the primary health care system.

Each Medicare Local engages widely to assess the primary health care needs of its community and has the capacity to prioritise funding to meet those identified needs. Decisions on priorities will therefore be unique to each Medicare Local. Where additional support for people with Parkinson’s disease has been identified as a priority, the Medicare Local could decide to provide dedicated support for people with the condition, as is the case with the Murrumbidgee Medicare Local which provides additional support for people with Parkinson’s disease.

The Australian Government has introduced a new, flexible way to fund many of the nation’s health priorities, better reflecting a more responsive and connected health system as part of its reform agenda. As part of this process, health and ageing programs have been consolidated within 18 larger flexible funds to reduce red tape and increase flexibility and efficiency.

Flexible funding is provided to Medicare Locals to meet primary health care needs through the Regionally Tailored Primary Health Care Initiatives through Medicare Locals Fund. The funding is intended to be flexible enough to support a wide range of activities in order to meet the current and emerging primary health care needs within each Medicare Local community.

Organisations that support families, carers and people with Parkinson’s disease may wish to seek future opportunities for funding under other new flexible funding arrangements, including the Chronic Disease Prevention and Service Improvement Fund. Details of the flexible funds are available on the Department’s Flexible Funds web page and any future open funding processes will be advertised on the Department’s website.

Reviewed: 24 April 2013