Inaugural Cumberland Health Care Neighbourhood Networking Event

The Cumberland region has a population of over 235,000 residents, with 60.3% of residents born outside of Australia and 73.9% of households using a non-English language as their primary language[1].

As an area of great diversity, and heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for a new way to deliver health care in the region lead to the decision to host the event. The desire to drive a collaborative, thriving health care hub which best serves the local community was the focus of the evening. 

Over the course of the event, attendees enjoyed hearing from key speakers about the current landscape of health care in the Cumberland region, initiatives such as Community Panels, education, and engagement for professionals within the region, and a presentation from Healthily on the power of GoShare videos. Opening the evening, Jane Assange, Director Primary Care Transformation and Integration, WentWest, spoke about how community is at the heart of WentWest’s mission and vision, revealing local area statistics, expressing appreciation towards attending providers and connecting the system to achieve improved health outcomes.  

In addition, Lead Facilitator for Community Partnerships at WentWest, Coralie Wales, was joined by several members of the Western Sydney Citizen’s Assembly as she presented on the value of the Community Panels run by WentWest in late 2023.  

Special guest speaker, Councillor Ola Hamed, Deputy Mayor of Cumberland City Council, spoke about the importance of meeting new people and building new connections which will benefit not only the community, but also professionals in achieving additional satisfaction in patient outcomes. Deputy Mayor Hamed highlighted how events such as the inaugural Cumberland Health Care Neighbourhood event are imperative to connectivity, growth, and success of the region. 

Following the event, Deputy Mayor Hamed stated, “Navigating the health system in this country can be tricky at the best of times. It is just such a pleasure to see WentWest bring the community together in this way to provide better health outcomes.”   

Guests had the opportunity to visit information booths around the room to connect with local service providers and gain a greater understanding of the services available within the region. Service provider attendees included STARTTS, St John of God, Uniting, Your Side, One Door, GoShare and Face Dementia.