38 Organisations Named to Drive Primary Health Care Reform

Friday, November 4, 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.
“Importantly, Medicare Locals will maintain and build on the excellent work already done by the local Divisions of General Practice, with GPs and general practice being at the centre of a strong, integrated primary health care system,” she said.
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.

Note: See attached .pdf for full media release.

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