Collaborating for Better Health Outcomes
Strong collaboration and integration of community health services was showcased at the Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) Integrated and Community Health (ICH) Conference 2026 in Blacktown this week.
Attended by more than 130 ICH clinicians, leaders and partners from across the district, the Conference focused provided an important opportunity to strengthen relationships between primary care, community health and hospital services in Western Sydney.
WentWest’s Scott Walters and Gary Kassab highlighted the critical role of Primary Health Networks in connecting services, systems and communities to deliver coordinated, person‑centred care.
“WentWest and WSLHD serve the same diverse population across Blacktown, Cumberland, Parramatta and The Hills so it’s essential that we have strong acute–primary care links to improve continuity of care and patient experience,” Scott said.
“People don’t experience care in silos. Collaboration across primary, community and hospital settings is essential”.
“Strong partnerships reduce duplication, improve referral pathways and support care closer to home”.
“Integrated planning, shared data and co‑design lead to better outcomes for people with chronic and complex needs”.
Showcasing Collaboration in Action
WentWest also hosted a trade stall throughout the day, engaging directly with ICH staff to share information about PHN‑commissioned services, referral pathways and digital tools that support frontline clinicians in their daily practice.
Staff were particularly interested in:
- HealthPathways and GoShare, supporting confident clinical decision‑making and patient education at the point of care.
- Population health and data tools, including Lumos and diabetes dashboards.
- Integrated commissioning initiatives across chronic disease, mental health, aged care and healthy ageing.
Examples such as Western Sydney Diabetes, the 2kg Challenge, aged care collaboration and Medicare Mental Health Centres illustrated how joint planning and shared care models across WentWest and WSLHD can reduce avoidable hospital presentations and improve health outcomes.