38 Organisations Named to Drive Primary Health Care Reform
Thirty-eight organisations have been selected to become the next Medicare Locals that will drive access to better primary health care for Australian families.
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4 November 2011
Thirty-eight organisations have been selected to become the next Medicare Locals that will drive access to better primary health care for Australian families, Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon said today.
“Medicare Locals are the glue that will bring together doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals to work with consumers to provide better frontline primary health services for their local communities,” Minister Roxon said.
“There are already 19 Medicare Locals operating around the country, which are working to better plan and coordinate local health services. These 38 new organisations will soon follow in their footsteps.
“In addition to identifying gaps in local health services, Medicare Locals will help patients to navigate the health system to find the right services at the right time and place, better connecting and improving local services.
“In particular, patients with chronic conditions will benefit from chronic disease prevention and management programs and mental health initiatives.
Across Australia, each Medicare Local will tailor its solutions to the needs of their local community. For example, the North Coast NSW Medicare Local will establish a regional low intensity mental health service called “StressLess” to improve access to mental health care. The Bayside Medicare Local in Victoria will expand the successful after hours clinics to other locations within the catchment, while the Fremantle Medicare Local in WA will establish an Aboriginal Health Priority Area Advisory Group and develop an Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre as a focus for Aboriginal Health Programs.
Eighteen Medicare Locals will be established from 1 January 2012, with the remaining 25 (20 of which have been announced today) to commence from 1 July 2012.
Once all the new Medicare Locals are established there will be a network of 62 nationally to ensure that patients receive locally responsive primary health care.
While applications have been received for the establishment of Medicare Locals in the catchments of North Eastern Sydney and Hunter Rural in New South Wales, Great South Coast and South Western Melbourne in Victoria and Kimberley-Pilbara in Western Australia, further work will be undertaken by the Department of Health and Ageing with those applicants to confirm the arrangements for these Medicare Locals. Announcements on the organisations that will form each of those Medicare Locals will be made once this work has been completed.
The boundaries of each Medicare Local can be viewed at www.yourhealth.gov.au
For all media inquiries, please contact the Minister's Office on 02 6277 7220
Attachment B
Medicare Locals to Commence from January 2012
Medicare Local | Applicant | State/Territory |
|---|---|---|
| Illawarra-Shoalhaven | Illawarra Division of General Practice | NSW |
| Nepean-Blue Mountains | Nepean Division of General Practice | NSW |
| North Coast NSW | Northern Rivers General Practice Network | NSW |
| Northern Sydney | GP Network Northside (Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Ryde Division of General Practice) | NSW |
| Western NSW | Dubbo Plains Division of General Practice | NSW |
| Bayside | Southcity GP Services | Victoria |
| Frankston-Mornington Peninsula | Peninsula GP Network | Victoria |
| Loddon-Mallee-Murray | Murray Plains Division of General Practice | Victoria |
| Lower Murray | Mallee Health Care Network | Victoria |
| Macedon Ranges and North Western Melbourne | PivotWest | Victoria |
| South Eastern Melbourne | Dandenong Casey GP Association | Victoria |
| Central and North West Queensland | North and West Queensland Primary Health Care | Queensland |
| Darling Downs – South West Queensland | GP Connections (Toowoomba and District Division of General Practice) | Queensland |
| Northern Adelaide | Adelaide Northern Division of General Practice | South Australia |
| Southern Adelaide – Fleurieu | GP Network South | South Australia |
| Fremantle | Fremantle General Practice Network | Western Australia |
| Goldfields-Midwest | Greater WA Health Partnership | Western Australia |
| Rockingham-Kwinana-Peel | Rockingham Kwinana Division of General Practice | Western Australia |
Attachment B
Medicare Local | Applicant | State/Territory |
|---|---|---|
| Central Coast NSW | Central Coast Division of General Practice | NSW |
| Eastern Sydney | South Eastern Sydney Division of General Practice | NSW |
| Far West NSW | NSW Outback Division of General Practice | NSW |
| Inner West Sydney | Central Sydney GP Network | NSW |
| South Eastern Sydney | Sutherland Division of General Practice | NSW |
| Southern NSW | Southern GP Network | NSW |
| South Western Sydney | Sydney South West GP Link and Southern Highlands Division of General Practice | NSW |
| Eastern Melbourne | Eastern Ranges GP Association | Victoria |
| Gippsland | East Gippsland Primary Health Alliance, Central West Gippsland Division of General Practice, and General Practice Alliance South Gippsland | Victoria |
| Goulburn Valley | Goulburn Valley Division of General Practice | Victoria |
| Grampians | West Vic Division of General Practice | Victoria |
| Hume | Albury-Wodonga Regional GP Network | Victoria |
| Central Queensland | CQ Medicare Local | Queensland |
| Far North Queensland | Far North Queensland Rural Division of General Practice | Queensland |
| Sunshine Coast | Sunshine Coast Division of General Practice | Queensland |
| Wide Bay | GP Links Wide Bay | Queensland |
| Country South SA | Murray Mallee General Practice Network | South Australia |
| Bentley-Armadale | Canning Division of General Practice | Western Australia |
| Perth Central and East Metro | Perth Primary Care Network | Western Australia |
| Northern Territory | General Practice Network NT, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT and NT Government Department of Health | Northern Territory |
Attachment C
Medicare Local | State/Territory |
|---|---|
| Hunter Rural | NSW |
| North Eastern Sydney | NSW |
| Great South Coast | Victoria |
| South Western Melbourne | Victoria |
| Kimberley-Pilbara | Western Australia |
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