Primary Care Partnerships are making a difference - March 2007

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Overview

Strengthening the human service system is a priority of the Victorian Government. Evidence from Australia and overseas demonstrates the value of partnerships in achieving this priority and improving the delivery of human services. Here in Victoria we have seen the positive impact of working in partnership over the past 6 years through the Primary Care Partnership Strategy.

Since the Primary Care Partnership Strategy commenced in 2000, we have seen agencies working together to improve the experience of consumers. Primary Care Partnerships (PCPs) are made up of a diverse range of member agencies. As can be seen by the figure opposite, all PCPs include hospitals, community health, local government and divisions of general practice as core members of the partnerships. Other types of agencies such as area mental health, drug treatment and disability services are also members of PCPs. The partners can also be specific to local issues and needs. For example, some PCPs have engaged with the police, schools and community groups. PCPs are well established as a flexible and robust platform for partnership work in Victoria.

Victoria now leads the way in Australia with our system-wide approach to working in partnership. Over the past 6 years, PCPs have focused on building relationships between agencies, service system reform, better coordination of services and an integrated approach to health promotion. We have clear evidence that the Victorian approach to partnership has improved our human service system through:

• better continuity of care;
• a more responsive system; and
• greater efficiency.

While we have a wealth of evidence of the benefits of working in partnership through PCPs, we will only focus on a few examples in this paper.

Contact

Contact information for further enquiries.

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