2023 Federal Budget
Western Victoria Primary Health Network (WVPHN) welcomes the recent Federal healthcare budget, which has a real focus on primary care. We are particularly happy to note that the Federal Government recognises the importance of primary health networks (PHNs) in the design and delivery of services.
PHNs have responsibility for overseeing the $143.9 million expansion of after-hours primary care, and the $79 million plan to assist small practices to complement their teams with allied and other health professionals. We see these spending initiatives and the increase in bulk billing incentives as important funding to ensure equity in access for communities across western Victoria.
In a post-Budget webinar, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon. Mark Butler, noted that there are now ‘enormous opportunities for real innovation from PHNs.’ We already have a good reputation for fresh, evidence-informed thinking in the health space, and we are delighted to have encouragement to do more.
You can find a snapshot of the Budget health spending here.
International Nurses Day
Last Friday was International Nurses Day (IND), so I’d just like to quickly recognise the invaluable and often underappreciated work of nurses, both those who work here at WVPHN as well as the many nurses who work in western Victoria and elsewhere. This year the theme of IND is ‘Our Nurses. Our Future.’ The focus on the sustainability of nursing as profession is particularly important coming out of the global pandemic, which has placed enormous strain on nurses. On Friday we highlighted some of the nurses that work at WVPHN and why they chose nursing, including myself, on our social media.
National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) falls on the same date every year, 27 May to 3 June. The week was chosen to commemorate two important milestones in the reconciliation journey. On 27 May 1967, Australia’s most successful referendum saw more than 90 per cent of Australians vote to change the Constitution so that, like all other Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would be counted as part of the population and the Commonwealth would be able to make laws for them. On 3 June 1992, the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision, the culmination of Eddie Koiki Mabo’s challenge to the legal fiction of ‘terra nullius’ (land belonging to no one) and leading to the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of lands. This decision paved the way for Native Title. Another important date leading up to NRW is Sorry Day, which occurs on 26th May. Sorry Day is a time to remember the Stolen Generations.
At WVPHN we will be taking time to reflect on these significant dates, but Sorry Day and NRW are also a good time for all of us to think about how we can all support reconciliation as individuals and as organisations. You can find 20 actions you take as an individual here.
2023 Primary Care Conference: Toddler to Teen Health – An Investment in the Future
Finally, I’d like to remind everyone that it’s now less than two weeks until our main education event of the year, the 2023 Primary Care Conference, which is on the weekend of 27 and 27 May. A huge amount of planning and work goes into this event, which is free for all primary care professionals in western Victoria and further afield – so we’d love to see you there. You can learn more about the speakers and subjects and register here.
Rowena Clift, WVPHN CEO
17 May 2023