Central Gippsland Health, Latrobe Health Services, Gippsland Lakes Complete Health and Wellways Australia were named 2022 Gippsland Primary Health Award winners at a ceremony in Sale on Wednesday, November 16.
Gippsland Primary Health Network chair Therese Tierney, chief executive Amanda Proposch, and special guest Kutcha Edwards presented the Gippsland health service providers with their respective awards.
“The entries demonstrate the amazing work happening in primary care across Gippsland, to ensure everyone in our community has access to the care they need at the right time,” Ms Proposch said.
“The finalists come from every part of Gippsland, with entries targeting people of all ages, delivering innovative and seamless services and programs.
“We congratulate the winners and all the finalists.”
Central Gippsland Health (CGH) received a 2022 Gippsland Primary Health Award for its trans-disciplinary model of care through the development of its Early Intervention Triage Clinic.
CGH director of community and allied health services, Rachel Strauss, said the program, which CGH implemented in 2020, focuses on timely support for pre-school children with developmental delays or behavioural concerns.
“The EITC embraces the concept of child-centred care with an emphasis on continuity of care by linking children to services and interventions, which support them and their families throughout their child’s health journey,” Ms Strauss said.
“The clinic provides families with a key contact person through the paediatric care coordinator (PCC) role to support their health literacy, help navigate services and provide support when any concerns arise.”
In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Wellington and East Gippsland shires already had extensive waitlists to see a paediatrician.
“Children commonly waited 12-18 months to be seen, resulting in approximately 500 children on a waitlist,” Ms Strauss said.
After receiving key stakeholder feedback regarding lengthy wait times, discussions began with the team about setting up a pilot triage clinic.
The allied health team and paediatricians at CGH already had a collaborative working relationship, with the key worker model well embedded. The decision was made to set up the EITC with the role of the PCC seconded from an existing keyworker position at CGH.
“Receiving this award is recognition for all the hard work and dedication from all involved, a real team effort that is making a real difference in children’s lives,” Ms Strauss said.
Latrobe Health Services was awarded for its healthy hearts study, a nurse-led health screening testing the cardiovascular health of 500 people across Gippsland.
The study demonstrated that pharmacy or nurse-led health screenings are a valuable mechanism for delivering preventative health awareness within the community.
Gippsland Lakes Complete Health was named a 2022 Gippsland Primary Health Award winner for its cadetship program, which offers students the opportunity for paid employment while they complete their degree, an innovative solution to rural allied health workforce issues.
The fourth health service to take home a 2022 Gippsland Primary Health Award was Wellways Australia, for its support worker training package to recognise the inherent link between housing instability and mental health recovery.
Wellways created a position dedicated to supporting participants who were homeless in 2021; the worker identifies individuals experiencing homelessness, and introduces activities to support participants in finding and sustaining a home through a recovery-focused lens.
