Independent Review provides pathway for long-term reform of community health

cohealth welcomes today’s release of the Independent Review into its GP services which provides a clear pathway toward transformational reform of the way multidisciplinary general practice care is funded and delivered in Australia.

The recommended reforms represent an important win for the communities of Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington and reflect what clients, clinicians and the community health sector have been advocating for over many years.

The recommendations, supported as a full package, will provide a more sustainable approach to multidisciplinary healthcare for communities with high and complex needs and greater long-term certainty for the people who rely on these services every day.

cohealth welcomes the opportunity to pilot a new multidisciplinary model of care and funding that has the potential to inform future Medicare policy and funding settings to support stronger, more sustainable healthcare for vulnerable communities across Australia.

The Review confirms three key findings:

• cohealth delivers high-quality care to highly complex and disadvantaged communities
• The current Medicare funding model is structurally misaligned with the needs of communities requiring multidisciplinary care
• GP services of this nature are not financially sustainable under existing funding arrangements, despite strong clinical performance.

cohealth accepts all recommendations identified for the organisation to implement.

In partnership with the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments, cohealth will work to implement the Review’s recommendations to deliver greater certainty, stronger local healthcare services and long-term community healthcare presence communities have been calling for and need to help keep people healthy, connected and well.

This includes significant work to redesign a more sustainable future model of care – informed by clients, clinicians, staff and community – to ensure services remain responsive to the needs of vulnerable communities now and into the future.

Other work that is already underway includes the recruitment for a Chief Medical Advisor, redevelopment planning for the Hoddle Street Collingwood site with Government, a review of infrastructure and overhead efficiencies and strengthening community and staff engagement.

cohealth acknowledges the Review identified areas where governance, leadership, communication and community engagement need to be strengthened and confirms that significant reform work is already underway, including strengthened governance arrangements, significant leadership renewal and additional oversight measures.

Importantly, the Review recognises that internal changes and governance reform alone would not address the underlying structural funding pressures affecting multidisciplinary healthcare services caring for highly complex communities.

The Review Panel found that it was now well accepted that there needs to be a different approach to funding multidisciplinary care in significantly disadvantaged communities.

cohealth recognises this process has been traumatic for some people, and that the changes have taken their toll on many clients, community and staff.

We reaffirm our commitment to rebuilding trust, strengthening services and working towards a more stable and sustainable future for the communities who rely on these services.

cohealth thanks Professor Stephen Duckett AO and the Review Panel for their work in delivering a forward-focused Review that provides a constructive and hopeful pathway for vulnerable communities.

It is our hope that this work will create the foundation for stronger, more sustainable community healthcare services for many years to come.