Daylesford Accident
We’d like to offer our condolences to the family and friends of the families who died or were injured in the recent car accident in Daylesford. It’s the second really big loss of life in our region this year, following the terrible car accident in Bochara near Hamilton in May, when four young people died.
While the victims of the crash in Daylesford were from Melbourne, we know that the impact of a tragedy like this can ripple through a community in unexpected ways, and it’s been wonderful to see the Daylesford community rally around to offer support to anyone affected – and also their impulse to reach out to the Melbourne families who have lost loved ones.
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, Western Victoria Primary Health Network was one of many services which cooperated to help provide support to anyone affected. We were incredibly impressed by the way local services worked collaboratively with other organisations to support their communities, particularly Hepburn Shire Council, Central Highlands Community Health and Springs Medical, and it was also gratifying to be able to bring some of our learnings from responding to the Bochara accident to help manage and respond to the Daylesford community’s need for support and information.
Values-Based Health Care Congress
A couple of weeks ago myself and a few other WVPHN staff attended the Values-Based Health Care Congress in Brisbane. For those who are not are not familiar with the Value-Based Health Care (VBHC) movement, it’s about exploring opportunities to move from a focus on the volume of services delivered to the outcomes achieved through a range of transformative programs and policies. It’s about providing value for those who use services and those who support them.
The congress had many interesting learnings, but a highlight was hearing keynote speaker, Dr Sally Lewis, National Clinical Director for VBHC at NHS Wales – and yes, a GP – who spent three hours working with over 30 members of the Victorian Tasmanian Primary Health Network Alliance discussing the role of primary care and PHNs implementing VBHC.
While our health system has many improvements to make when it comes to VBHC, it was heartening to see the commitment to VBHC from all the PHNs involved knowing that it will improve health and wellbeing outcomes for our communities.
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
Once again, WVPHN is taking part in 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an annual global campaign dedicated to ending gender-based violence. The campaign runs from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day) and also incorporates International Day for People with Disabilities (3 December). It is an opportunity to raise awareness about the key role that gender inequality plays in driving violence against women and call for action to prevent it.
The following are some of the measures we’ve taken to end gender-based violence. WVPHN has developed its own training package – A-LIVES family violence training, which helps health professionals gain a deeper understanding of family violence prevalence and how to support and refer patients effectively. As an organisation we provide Family Violence Leave of up to 20 days per annum for all employees. We’re also running a series of internal education events that will focus on people with a disability or affected by family violence.
You can read more about the campaign here.
Congratulations to Kardinia Health
Finally, we’d like to congratulate Kardinia Health, which has taken out Active GP Clinic of the Year as part of the 2023 Active Geelong awards. The award is given to a GP clinic that provides resources, support, opportunities and information to encourage increased physical activity.
Some of the initiatives instituted by Kardinia Health included:
- Three GPs represented Kardinia Health on Active Geelong and the PHN Physical Activity Special Interest group.
- Started their own GP-led walk in June this year, which is steadily growing in the number of walkers and now has the three GPs plus the clinic practice manager supporting the My Clinic Walks program.
- Staff are offered 20-30 minutes exercise classes at lunch time, led by their in-house physio. Staff can consult with the physio to demonstrate their exercises and ensure the weight or activity is appropriate to the individual.
- Kardinia Health staff are welcome to use the gym before and after work, with a physio induction provided before use.
WVPHN is very proud to be sponsoring the Active Geelong program and it’s great to see local general practices getting on board.
Rowena Clift, WVPHN CEO
15 November 2023