I would like to acknowledge the Darug people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet today and pay my respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us today.
I’d also like to give a special warm welcome to our honoured guests:
• The Hon. Stephen Bali, Member for Blacktown
• Councillor Chris Quilkey, Deputy Mayor of Blacktown City Council
• Conjoint Prof., Di O’Halloran, WentWest Board Chair
• Ms Lindsay Chair, WentWest Board Member
• Dr. Kean-Seng Lim, Healthicare Board Chair
• Dr. Jaspreet Saini, Healthicare Clinic Director
And many of our wonderful staff from the Healthicare care team and WentWest.
So, why are we all here?
Because today, we are not just opening a general practice delivering great care to the community, but we are opening the keystone to this health care neighbourhood. Healthicare promises to be:
– A health hub
– A support for general practices and their care teams across this region
– A connector of primary healthcare
– A beacon of hope for what the next generation of primary care can look like when we all work together
Western Sydney has one of the fastest-growing and diverse populations in Australia
• 53% of residents were born overseas, and 58% use a language other than English at home
• 35% of people in our region struggle with long-term health conditions and a similar number do not have access to primary care
• 13% also have a household income of less than $650 per week
This diverse social landscape is something we celebrate every day, but, unfortunately, the health system has not always been able to support those who most need care. Access to care is not equitable.
Primary health care is at a tipping point in Australia, and it requires us to come together and take bold action across physical health, mental health, social care, education and many other sectors to make sure that our diverse communities receive the joined-up care they deserve.
But we can’t just talk about the problem, we must act. Healthicare is about us taking action together.
So, why is Healthicare different?
Healthicare has evolved from many years of conversations with our GP Leaders, our clinical and consumer councils and most recently our community panels.
Its approach is based on the principles of the Patient Centred Medical Homes, a program which was brought to Australia by WentWest and many great trailblazers across Western Sydney, many of which are in this very room.
The PCMH Program, which now runs across 35 Practices in Western Sydney involving more than 300 health practitioners and carers, believes in continuous quality improvement.
It forges forward, despite an often-fragmented system, to provide individualised care from an integrated, compassionate care team how and when the patients that care.
Healthicare is a new not-for-profit organisation which will take the Patient Centred Medical Home Program to new heights in this region by embodying the principles of PCMH, but by also supporting surrounding general practices, connecting and integrating care across sectors and testing and trailing new innovative models of care delivery.
Crucially it will provide complex chronic disease management for some of the most vulnerable families and support surrounding primary care providers to streamline access to care.
We want to attract the next generation of health leaders, GPs, practice managers, nurses, allied health professions, researchers and innovators to the region and for Heathicare to be a space for innovation and change.
We want to redefine the way care is delivered so that it focuses on the person, is proactive and preventative, and builds community resilience.
And we want to partner with other leading organisations so that the idea of Healthicare can catch like wildfire across Western Sydney and further afield.
So, as CEO of WentWest and as an incoming Board member of Healthicare, I once again welcome you to what we hope will become the next generation of Medicare – also known as Healthicare.