Psychiatry Support Line connects GPs to Expert Mental Health Advice
9 March 2022 What is the GP Psychiatry Support Line? The Western Sydney Primary Health Network, has recently commissioned a GP Psychiatry Support Line to help primary care professionals access expert advice to support their patients. The program is designed to connect all GPs within Western Sydney access to telephone support to receive expert psychiatric […]
Working Together to Close the Gap
3 March 2022 Currently, the target to close the gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians by 2031 is not on track[1]. Nationally, non-Aboriginal children are expected to live an average of 8.6 and 7.8 years longer than Aboriginal children[2]. Figures from 2019 show that 3 in 10 Aboriginal Australians who needed support […]
AOD Prison Transition Program Creates Pathways Home
26 February 2022 WentWest aims to help reform primary care by providing support to health care professionals, and commissioning health services that generate better health outcomes in Western Sydney. That means finding accessible solutions to support all members of our community. One of our commissioned providers, the Community Restorative Centre (CRC), provides through-care, post-release, […]
Urgent Care Service centres offer alternative to ED
17 February 2022 Over 40% of patients that present to Emergency Departments (ED) in Western Sydney are classified as triage category 4 and 5. These types of presentations could now potentially receive treatment outside of an ED, thanks to Value Based Urgent Care. The Value Based Urgent Care pathway aims to alleviate the pressure […]
Expanding Mental Health Services in Western Sydney
10 February 2022 Expansion of Primary Mental Health Care (PMHC) Service As of 1 February 2022, patients in Western Sydney can access almost double the number of free psychology sessions previously available. New funding to the Primary Mental Health Care (PMHC) service means that an additional 18,000 psychology sessions will be available to community members […]
Western Sydney GP COVID Support Team Launches Today
3 February 2022 The rising COVID-19 cases in NSW have placed additional pressure on GPs as the number of low and moderate-risk COVID-19 positive patients treated in a primary care setting has increased. In response, Western Sydney Primary Health Network has partnered with MQ Health and is proud to launch a new dedicated support service […]
Wellbeing in Aged Care
27 January 2022 In Australia, approximately 39% of all permanent aged care residents are living with mild to moderate depression[1]. As the average life expectancy increases and the number of Australians aged 65 and over rises, representing 13.3% of the population in June 2009 to 15.9% in 2018, more people will be utilising residential aged […]
WentWest Welcomes Chief Data Officer and a New Era for Data and Digital Transformation in Western Sydney
20 January 2022 WentWest, the Western Sydney Primary Health Network (WSPHN), welcomes Dr Paul Nicolarakis to our Senior Executive team as our inaugural Chief Data Officer (CDO). Applying health and social care system intelligence to support commissioning, drive continuous quality improvement, and demonstrate valuable outcomes is crucial to building healthier communities. This role will focus […]
A Message From Our CEO Ray Messom
2021 has been a year of creativity and innovation as we’ve worked collectively to tackle COVID-19 and continued to progress health reform in Western Sydney. Thank you to all of our health care professionals, partners and community members who have made this year a success. Our 2020/21 Annual Review, Innovate and Create, celebrates the new […]
Primary Mental Health Care Referrals Hit New Highs
Thursday 9 December 2021 WentWest’s Primary Mental Health Care (PMHC) team triages referrals from health professionals to ensure that vulnerable groups access timely, quality psychological support. Mental health remains a priority area in Western Sydney and is of particular concern following the impact of COVID-19 public health restrictions. In July 2021, the start of the […]