By Mikayla van Loon
Local community health providers have banded together with statewide organisations to produce a collective vision for the future of Victoria’s healthcare system.
Inspiro and EACH have joined the call to better fund the community health sector by co-authorising the release of Community Health First’s position paper ‘Strengthening Victoria’s Health System through Community Health’.
With all 24 registered community health services in Victoria launching the paper on 11 July at a ministerial roundtable, it has a central message of reimagining the delivery of healthcare in the state.
Three key goals from the paper include delivering care in local communities, focusing on health not illness and preventative rather than reactive care, as well as reducing health inequity.
Community Health First Steering Committee chair Anna Robinson said the five recommendations outlined in the paper, while relevant to Victoria, should be drawn on by all levels of government.
“We know that our registered community health services hold the solutions to many of the problems facing our health and social care systems, and are central in reimagining a system that delivers better, more ambitious outcomes not only in Victoria but across Australia,” she said.
“Through investing in community health services governments can tackle issues surrounding access to care and disparities in health outcomes through a cost-effective and locally responsive model of service delivery.”
The paper notes that record healthcare funding has been reached and yet “continued growth is not improving outcomes or equitable access to services”.
Currently Australia spends only two per cent of its healthcare budget on preventative care, something noted in the report to be well below the average in other OECD countries.
EACH CEO Natalie Sullivan said increased investment in community health will alleviate the burden on hospitals while providing “accessible, timely, and localised” services.
“Healthcare spending has reached unprecedented levels, with a substantial portion allocated to hospitals,” she said.
“We believe that investing in community health is imperative to bolster service capacity, reduce system wide demand, and provide proactive, responsive care that prevents illness and supports overall wellbeing.”
As part of the funding recommendation, community health services are asking for at least 0.5 per cent or $136 million from the Victorian health budget by 2030 to adequately fund services.
The paper highlights the detrimental role community health providers play in chronic pain management, supporting LGBTQIA+ and marginalised groups, providing care in natural disasters and especially the response during Covid-19.
Community health providers like EACH and Inspiro were essential in helping support the broader health service throughout the pandemic, providing testing services and vaccinations, as well as general health advice, resulting in an easing of hospital admissions.
Inspiro CEO Sue Sestan said the paper displays “the role our services can play in directly addressing and reducing demand on Victoria’s overcrowded emergency departments and ambulance services”.
“Community health services have been around for 50 years, playing a vital role in health service delivery with the right care, at the right time and in the right place,” she said.
“Prioritising investment in community health will go a long way to ease the demand currently experienced across the broader health service system.”
The full report can be accessed by going to www.communityhealthfirst.org.au
