#CEOdesk

Last Wednesday we were honoured to host The Hon Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health and the Federal Member for Lindsay, Melissa McIntosh MP at our office.

Essential to what we do as a regional health planning and funding body, is knowing our region and understanding the primary healthcare needs of our community. This visit was an opportunity for us to not only showcase some our work but to advocate for the health needs of our region, particularly in regards to mental health and addiction support.

At the start of this month, we were excited to launch a free psychiatry advice line exclusively for GPs to help manage the care of patients with mental health concerns.

We know that in parts of our region there are limited psychiatrists available and that sometimes there can be lengthy wait times for patients to access these services. The GP Psychiatry Support Line gives GPs direct and timely access to psychiatry expertise, allowing patients whose conditions are treatable within primary care, to stay under the care of their GP.

On Wednesday I was thrilled to officially launch the NewAccess program for the Lithgow and Hawkesbury communities. 

Developed by Beyond Blue, and provided by Marathon Health, NewAccess is an early intervention self-referral program for people 16 years and over who may be going through tough times. 

Our Well-Being Grants to Support Farming Communities help build on existing strong community networks so that people have the skills to support each other and have the best opportunity to thrive. 

I’m excited to announce four more of our Well-Being Grants to Support Farming Communities recipients that have been successful in the Lithgow region. Capertee Valley Landcare Incorporated, Lithgow Area Women’s Shed, Lithgow Information & Neighbourhood Centre and Trybal Productions. 

On Thursday, I was invited to an event where Senator Deborah O'Neill, Assistant Shadow Minister for Mental Health, and Susan Templeman, Member for Macquarie, announced that Labor will also fund a headspace Centre in Katoomba, in addition to a new outreach service in the Hawkesbury, if elected into Government.

We are passionate about improving the mental health of our local communities and are thrilled that both Katoomba and the Hawkesbury will receive funding for headspace services if Labor is elected.

It has been another busy and exciting year for us as we support quality primary care, commission valuable services and facilitate more integrated care in our region.

Someone asked me recently, what inspires me in my work. I reflected on this and said it is hearing the stories from clinicians and consumers about what is and isn’t working in healthcare, and knowing that our organisation has the ability to affect positive change for some of those things.

It may seem like a small drop in the ocean, but for every person that now has access to care they didn’t have previously, because of a service we have commissioned or for every healthcare practitioner who’s working life is now a little easier, because of the support we have been able to provide - that is what inspires me.

This month is Mental Health Awareness Month and a great opportunity to highlight one of our commissioned services, Blue Mountains Aboriginal Culture Resource Centre (ACRC), and the amazing work they are doing with young Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people in our region through their Young, Strong & Deadly Program.

Young, Strong & Deadly is a dual early intervention Mental Health and Alcohol & Other Drugs prevention program for young Aboriginal people between 13-28 years of age. Delivered primarily through schools, the program is designed to strengthen young people’s connection to country and cultural identity, creating a positive sense-of-self and community. This creates a sense of belonging that increases their personal resilience and decreases their risks of mental illness and alcohol and other drugs addiction.

This week is National Reconciliation Week (NRW) and serves as an important reminder that Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people still face extra challenges in life. Many of these are the consequences of a complex combination of social, economic and environmental factors that have been compounded by the ongoing effect of colonialisation and intergenerational trauma.

This NRW year’s theme Don’t Keep History a Mystery encourages all Australians to learn more about Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories, and to share that knowledge to help us grow as a nation. 

I was thrilled to be part of a Showcase event this week that marked both the culmination and beginning of an exciting chapter for our region. It’s the culmination of an extensive commissioning process and the beginning for a number programs that are being rolled out to address drug, alcohol and mental health issues across our region. 

Since the formation of PHNs in July 2015, we have gradually been making changes to the way we manage the provision of some health services. 

One area of change in particular that warrants greater awareness within the community is the use of a 'commissioning' approach in how we may deliver healthcare services to meet local health needs.