#CEOdesk

On Saturday, 17 August we held our first Conference - Rethinking Mental Health: New Approaches in Primary Care.

Held in the Blue Mountains, the conference brought together experts from around Australia to provide new insights on the impact of mental illness in our region and talk about new ways to manage mental health in primary care.

Wentworth Healthcare has always valued the views of our community, and we have incorporated nationally-recognised community engagement projects into our strategic planning for over five years.

The people involved in our regional Community Advisory Committee (CAC) as well as those who participate in our LGA-based consumer groups represent a broad cross-section of our local community.

In our region, respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death. It accounts for 5% of hospitalisations and is one of the top two potentially preventable causes of hospitalisation, with around 970 people admitted to local hospitals from respiratory conditions each year.

November is Lung Health Awareness month, and I welcome this opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of lung health, in particular Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which affects 1 in 7 Australians.

Respiratory disease (eg. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease or COPD, Asthma, Influenza and Pneumonia) accounts for approximately 7% of the burden of disease in the Australian population.