< Back to Contents

We will partner to deliver more integrated services that improve patient outcomes and experience, giving consumers more choice and control.

Partnerships are critical to establishing a sustainable health system that ensures all country Western Australians are able to access sustained high quality health services. We will continue to explore and lead ways to partner more broadly and effectively to achieve better health outcomes, wider choice for consumers, and more focussed and efficient services. We will do so by maximising the value derived from partnerships; building a better-connected patient transport system, supporting other providers to deliver more services where it is viable and appropriate, and partnering with universities to increase our research activity and value. Aboriginal medical services and general practitioners are integral to effective and sustainable health service access and delivery for country communities. Partnership with these service providers will continue to be our focus.

Actions

Maximise the impact we deliver to country communities through partnerships
We will develop a strategic approach to partnering that ensures we enter into partnerships that are mutually beneficial, aligned with our strategic priorities, and most importantly, deliver value for country communities. We will broaden our scope of partners, considering government, non-government and private enterprise. We will ensure our approach to managing partnerships is consistent, outcomes-based and founded on underlying principles of trust and reciprocity. Partnerships with the WA Primary Health Network and key funders will seek to achieve joint planning, priority setting and commissioning of integrated and place-based care.

Create an integrated patient transport system
We know that travelling long distances is a difficult and sometimes traumatic experience. We are committed to making patient transport a seamless, supported experience for all country patients. We will work with our partners to develop better ways of coordinating patient movements and supporting the entire patient journey. We will use transport networks and telehealth to provide more remote outreach services, reducing the need for patients to travel. We will work to continuously improve service access and coordination to deliver care closer to home.

Support other providers to improve service access and choice
WACHS is responsible for ensuring the acute health needs of country communities are met. We will work with others to improve local community access to a range of mental health, primary care and aged care services. Solutions achieved through partnerships with non-government and private sectors will be explored in order to improve access to essential services. We will work with providers where sustainable service alternatives exist, to support their success.

Partner with universities, research institutes and other entities to increase research activity targeted at country people and translate this research into practice
Research is key to improving clinical practices and health outcomes. We are committed to developing our internal research capability and using research outcomes to improve clinical practice. We will actively work with universities and respected institutions to deliver research projects that target statewide and WACHS priorities that benefit country patients, as well as advocating for further funding to increase our impact.

Measures of success

• ↑ General practitioner and clinical specialist engagement measures
• ↑ Number of successful formal service partnership agreements
• ↑ Number of formalised partnerships with universities and research institutions
• ↑ Number of staff formally involved in research and development
• ↑ Participation in national and international rural and remote health research
• ↑ Research funding leveraged to WACHS projects
• ↓ Instances where WACHS provides services when it is viable and sustainable for others to do so
• ↑ Partner contract and agreement metrics – e.g. Improved patient transport performance metrics
• ↑ Improved clinical outcomes following transfer to regional centres or Perth