Frankston-Mornington Peninsula Medicare Local

Peninsula GP Network Ltd. is leading a consortium of seven organisations to establish the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula Medicare Local.

image showing map of Frankston-Mornington Peninsula Medicare Local

Characteristics of the local area

The catchment is a mixed urban and semi-rural area stretching along the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. More than 16 per cent of the population is aged over 65 years and 32 per cent is aged less than 25 years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 0.8 per cent of the population.

New key activities as a Medicare Local

To meet the strategic objectives for a Medicare Local, the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula Medicare Local will undertake a range of activities that will initially include the following:

Identification of service gaps and duplications, and opportunities to address them.
Application of the flexible funding pool to target gaps in primary health care services for aged care recipients.
Improvement in the availability of after hours health care services.
Maintenance of support to general practitioners and extension of support to other primary health care providers.
Support for the electronic connection of health care providers across the region.
Coordination of allied health services for diabetes management patients.

Achievements to date

The organisations forming the Medicare Local have worked collaboratively on a number of programs and projects over many years.

The Peninsula GP Network has, for example:

established a platform for Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records and other eHealth activities, through early provision of continuing education and upskilling for general practice. A high percentage of general practices now have access to transfer encrypted data to specialists and other providers;
provided allied health services to the community in response to service gaps;
supported a Consumer Health Advisory Group and public health activities such as health workshops in schools; and
established a suicide prevention pilot program and a headspace site.

Local partnerships

The Medicare Local is being formed by a consortium of the Peninsula General Practice Network, Frankston City, Frankston Mornington Peninsula Primary Care Partnership, Monash University, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Peninsula Health and the Royal District Nursing Service.

Consultation mechanisms and structure

The Frankston-Mornington Peninsula Medicare Local Transition Board will comprise eight Directors, including skills in the areas of finance, legal and consumer representation. The final Board will comprise up to nine Directors. A sub-committee structure will be developed by the Transition Board to meet operational requirements.

Where some important stakeholders, for example allied health providers and consumers, are not organised into legal entities, the Medicare Local is committed to supporting the creation of membership opportunities for these stakeholders where possible and establishing robust alternative engagement arrangements where this is not possible.