At the heart of WA Primary Health Alliance’s mission is an ongoing commitment to working with communities, primary health care providers and our partners across the health system in Western Australia. This year we have focused on revitalising our stakeholder reference and advisory groups to make them more flexible, purposeful and to encourage more meaningful input.
Our partnerships and panels approach targets the right people in the most appropriate way at planned points in a project or activity, strengthens purposeful partnerships with other agencies and keeps the focus on timely, responsive and planned engagement with our stakeholders. It moves away from standing generalist committees and cumbersome administration for both stakeholders and WAPHA.
General Manager Strategy and Engagement, Chris Kane, said WAPHA is committed to working in partnership towards a more connected and collaborative primary health care system that will improve health outcomes, and ultimately equity for all Western Australians.
“The voices of all our stakeholders – communities, consumers, families, carers, health professionals and service providers – are critical to shaping our work to address inequity, identify gaps and invest in accessible, quality local care.
“WAPHA’s Member Organisations play an important role in providing our Board with direct insight into the local primary care landscape and current operating environment, sharing priorities, strategies and progress in the delivery of health outcomes. They also share information on topics of mutual interest and work collaboratively with us to develop joint proposals and advocacy statements supporting our vision.
“It’s an exciting time, and we will continue to assess how our refreshed partnerships and panels approach is meeting the needs of both our organisation and our stakeholders.”
What have the refreshed partnerships and panels achieved so far?
The WA GP Advisory Panel pilot, a joint initiative between WA Primary Health Alliance, Rural Health West and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners WA, has strengthened the voice of general practice in the planning, design and policy setting for primary healthcare. A group of 60 general practitioners from across the state has helped:
- Shape the development of WAPHA’s See Your GP – Keep your health on track
- Inform submissions and representations to the independent governance review of the WA Health Services Act and enabled them to provide a primary care voice into that review.
- Translate into actions for the three lead agencies to support GP wellness and self-care.
- Highlight lessons learned from the WA GP Urgent Care pilot and has provided advice to inform the expansion of national Urgent Care clinics.
The WA GP Special Interest Panel – Care of the Older Person has provided valuable insight to assist WAPHA in increasing the use and availability of telehealth in residential aged care, as well as exploring the delivery of palliative care in general practice to inform the expansion of the Greater Choice at Home Palliative Care program.
WAPHA Member organisations for 2022-23 are: Rural Health West, Community Employers WA, Mental Health Commission WA, Department of Health WA, Western Australian Local Government Association, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Health Consumers’ Council and the Western Australian Council of Social Services.