Primary Health Branch policy and funding guidelines
Primary Health Branch policy and funding guidelines
Primary Health Branch policy and funding guidelines
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8 <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Branch</strong> <strong>policy</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>funding</strong> <strong>guidelines</strong>––2006–07 to 2008–09 (2008–09 update)<br />
3 Sector development<br />
This section describes <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Branch</strong> developmental<br />
work that will have significant impact upon business<br />
practices, partnerships <strong>and</strong> change within the primary health<br />
sector during 2006–09. This work includes consolidating<br />
established activity, such as service coordination <strong>and</strong> the<br />
<strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Health</strong> Funding Approach, through to new initiatives<br />
including dem<strong>and</strong> management <strong>and</strong> the Dental <strong>Health</strong><br />
Program Funding Review.<br />
3.1 Quality <strong>and</strong> safety<br />
It is important that services funded by <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Branch</strong><br />
programs meet the highest st<strong>and</strong>ards of quality <strong>and</strong> safety.<br />
The strategic goals for the initiatives in this area are:<br />
• strong client <strong>and</strong> community engagement<br />
• strong clinical governance of health services<br />
• strong partnerships with the sector <strong>and</strong> stakeholders<br />
• compliance with legislative <strong>and</strong> regulatory requirements<br />
• recognition of innovation <strong>and</strong> excellence.<br />
The framework developed by the Victorian Quality Council<br />
informs the quality <strong>and</strong> safety practices of services funded<br />
by the <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Branch</strong>. Following a recent review by<br />
the Auditor General, the Department of Human Services, led<br />
by the Statewide Quality <strong>Branch</strong>, is developing a new clinical<br />
governance framework forVictorian health providers<br />
(see www.health.vic.gov.au/qualitycouncil/).<br />
Strengthening community <strong>and</strong><br />
consumer engagement<br />
Community <strong>and</strong> consumer participation contributes to<br />
effective system-wide planning <strong>and</strong> promotes improvement<br />
in health care quality <strong>and</strong> safety. It does this by supporting<br />
accountability, stimulating review <strong>and</strong> improvement, <strong>and</strong><br />
providing mechanisms for integrating community <strong>and</strong><br />
consumer priorities in <strong>policy</strong> <strong>and</strong> practice. Improving the mix,<br />
accessibility, safety <strong>and</strong> quality of services are direct<br />
objectives of enhancing community participation in health<br />
services. There is also increasing evidence that consumer<br />
participation in individual decision making improves<br />
individual health outcomes.<br />
The primary health sector has a strong consumer<br />
participation focus. Consumer engagement is facilitated<br />
through boards of management, public health services<br />
community advisory committees <strong>and</strong> primary care <strong>and</strong><br />
population health advisory committees. Agencies are further<br />
encouraged to build on existing mechanisms for client <strong>and</strong><br />
community engagement. The work of these committees<br />
should inform the service’s strategic planning. The PCP<br />
strategy is founded on community participation. Input from<br />
consumer <strong>and</strong> carer groups was sought in the development<br />
of all PCP <strong>policy</strong> documents <strong>and</strong> PCPs are encouraged to<br />
ensure that their communities are represented in<br />
local partnerships.<br />
The department has funded a number of initiatives to<br />
support the engagement of clients <strong>and</strong> the community.<br />
These resources are available at<br />
,<br />
,<br />
<strong>and</strong><br />
.<br />
Training for consumers <strong>and</strong> community members is also<br />
provided regularly through the <strong>Health</strong> Issues Centre at<br />
www.healthissuescentre.org.au<br />
Client satisfaction surveys<br />
The <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Branch</strong> has funded the Australian<br />
Institute for <strong>Primary</strong> Care (AIPC) since 2006 to assist<br />
community health services to survey their clients using the<br />
<strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Health</strong> Care Consumer Opinion Survey (PHCCOS).<br />
Statewide aggregated data <strong>and</strong> further information on the<br />
project is available at .<br />
Funding for further work in this area has been allocated for<br />
2009–10 to reflect the growth in services for people with<br />
chronic/complex conditions. Community health services<br />
should continue to consider the inclusion of client<br />
satisfaction results <strong>and</strong> responses in their Quality of Care<br />
Report (see below).