SSWAHS = SWSLHN + SLHN and the Medicare Locals - 4

What is expected of the Medicare Locals? In summary the following principles are the key points required of any organisation that holds itself up as an appropriate organisation to receive the Federal funding to manage a Medicare Local.

"The overarching objective of MLs is to ‘coordinate primary health care delivery to address local needs and service gaps’. The guidelines set out the functions of MLs, including the expectations of the Government, according to the following ‘strategic objectives’:

• Improve the patient journey through developing integrated and coordinated services
• Provide support to clinicians and service providers to improve patient care
• Identification of the health needs of local areas and development of locally focused and responsive services
• Facilitation on the implementation and successful performance of primary health care initiatives and programs
• Be efficient and accountable with strong governance and effective management"

Has the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice ever been able to offer "integrated and coordinated services"? What support has it ever offered clinicians and service providers to improve patient care? How has the Division's CEO and Board gone about identifying local health needs and the development of locally focused and responsive health services? Has the CEO or the Board ever participated in any public community forum or meeting to gain any impression of the local needs? Apart from the government funded programs and initiatives what primary health care has the Division ever promoted outside the organisational structure of the Division? Where is the proof that the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice has been efficient and accountable of the Federal and State funding with which it has been provided in past years? If it is an honorable and honest Board and CEO perhaps they can explain why the government funded mental health programs have been limited because the money provided has been diverted towards the Division employing its own staff. Does this suggest good governance and financial management? The only answer for any of these questions and for any response attributable to the "strategic directions" enumerated by the Federal government for Medicare Locals is a universal "No!"

and

"MLs are expected to ‘provide more integrated care’ and ‘ensure more responsive local GP and primary health care services’. These examples point to the importance of the interface between MLs and the Commonwealth and MLs and the States if they are to achieve their objectives. Integration at the local level is also likely to be critical. The goodwill of external organisations and individuals, over which the ML has little or no control, and the availability of incentives to encourage organisations to participate in the MLs will be important.

Although the first group of MLs are likely to be drawn from ‘high functioning’ Divisions of General Practice, many of which have had experience in negotiating some of these issues, as MLs their role is much broader.

To fulfil the Government’s long term objective for MLs to provide a ‘coordinated package of care’ and act as fund holders for primary care, an agreed definition of what constitutes primary health care and sufficient empowerment of MLs would seem to be necessary pre-requisites."

One has to ask whether the historical record of the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice meets even the basic requirements for these "strategic directions" and "expectations" enumerated in these foregoing quotes from Canberra.

Has the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice been a "high functioning" Division? Has it been able to work with other health and welfare based organisations in the Southern Highlands? Has it ever been able to "provide a coordinated package of care" to meet the whole of life health needs of the local community? Has the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice ever held consultations with any NGO or representative community group about the health need requirements of the local community? How integrated have they been with their local community and the other health service providers? The truth is that the the CEO and the Board of the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice would have a resounding "No" or "None" marked against each of these questions on the Division's report card.

Yet, by default and for no other reason, the Federal and State governments could be sending about $2 million dollars per year of taxpayers money to the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice to spend in providing boutique services and programs through the Division's organisational structure in an attempt to enhance its own status, while local GP practices attempt to maintain the health and well-being of the Southern Highlands community.

God help us all if the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice remains controlled by that failure of a medical administrator. This area will either get no funding, or will not be able to retain any funding provided by the Federal and/or State governments.