local voices, better care

Rural and remote communities like Glamorgan Spring Bay wouldn’t have higher rates of hospitalisation if they had the right mix of health services.

cohealth is continuing to work with the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council to make it easier for the residents of two remote towns on Tasmania’s East Coast to access health services.

Together, the organisations have developed a community-health model designed to help the people of Bicheno and Triabunna receive more integrated, accessible primary care – but it still needs funding to bring it to life.

Over the past 12 months, the work of the East Coast Tasmania, Primary care Rural Innovative Multidisciplinary Models (PRIMM) Project has developed a community-designed plan for multidisciplinary primary-care services and innovative workforce solutions for the Glamorgan Spring Bay local government area in which the two towns are located.

The PRIMM project has enabled cohealth to deepen its relationships and connections with the local community and service providers, and better understand the area’s needs and vision for local health services.

“People in the community and patients are very welcoming of medical care, because they understand the value of having health care in our community and having healthcare providers that are happy to be here.”

— Dr Elizabeth Grey, General Practitioner

It has created an opportunity to listen and learn, and to demonstrate cohealth’s commitment to raising community voices. The project has also supported cohealth to build its reputation and profile with the Tasmanian and Federal Governments, and to support its aspiration for healthy communities, healthy people.

The Glamorgan Spring Bay Community Health Model aligns with cohealth’s established model, in which a lead organisation (in this case, cohealth) pools funding streams to deliver a more comprehensive suite of services tailored to community needs. The Model also outlines the additional focus required to support the delivery of the cohealth model in a rural and remote area.

cohealth employs approximately 20 staff across its two clinics in Triabunna and Bicheno, and facilitated 3,068 service occasions across FY25. Services include medical and nursing primary care. While mostly clinic-based, there is also capacity for community outreach, as well as supporting visits from a suite of private health professionals. For example, this past year has seen the introduction of the East Coast’s first face-to-face visiting psychiatric clinic.

Moving forward, cohealth remains committed to advocating for state funding for the Glamorgan Spring Bay Community Health Model, as well as for state or federal funding for urgent care facilities to service Bicheno and Triabunna.