Community urged to speak up about health issues at workshops
Residents of western and far western NSW are encouraged to attend local workshops to have their say about health priorities in their communities.
Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN) in partnership with the Western and Far West Local Health Districts is holding workshops to canvass community views about health priorities and health service needs throughout June and July.
Andrew Harvey, Chief Executive Officer of the WNSW PHN said, “The workshops will seek insights from community and service providers on the storyline for health in their areas; including emerging health issues, gaps in services and advice on how to deliver appropriate and culturally safe primary health care.”
“Aboriginal Health is a key priority and we are especially interested in the stories of Aboriginal people and so we are holding separate discussions on Aboriginal health which will feed into the broader community workshops,” he said.
“The feedback and findings from the workshops will directly inform our work in further supporting the planning, funding and evaluating of primary health services,” he said.
Workshops will be held at Broken Hill, Orange, Dubbo and Bourke and there will be 3 sessions in each location:
- Aboriginal Health
- Community
- GPs, Service Providers and Allied Health
Australian Healthcare and Hospital Association CEO, Alison Verhoeven will co-facilitate the sessions with a member of the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council, and Wiradjuri man Roy Ah See.
The WNSW PHN is required by the Commonwealth Department of Health to complete the annual Health Needs Assessment.
The face to face consultations will be supported by a Telephone Survey of over 3,000 residents across the region, which started on 29 May, and residents unable to attend a workshop will be able to provide their insights via an online survey on the WNSW PHN website from late June.
“We really encourage people to come along and talk to us about their experiences and their view of the health priorities in their community because we genuinely want to know so we can work together as a health system to improve care for all people,” Mr Harvey said.
Register for a workshop in your community today:
https://www.wnswphn.org.au/commissioning/needs-assessment