SWSPHN’s inaugural Local Health Forums, a new opportunity for exploring service and health needs gaps in our community, will focus on the Care Finder program which connects local seniors to appropriate aged care services.
The first in our series of forums, which merge our long-standing Local Health Councils with a wider community forum, will held at Bankstown on 26 May. Other forums will follow for the communities of Macarthur, Fairfield/Liverpool and the Southern Highlands.
Local Health Forums will be held twice a year and will give participants the chance to hear from SWSPHN on our strategic direction, and provide key insights as part of our stakeholder and community consultation.
Find out about how you can help guide the development of the Care Finder program in this month’s Under the Microscope.
What is the aim of the Care Finder Local Health Forums?
Community members, health and aged care providers are invited to attend one of SWSPHN’s Care Finder Local Health Forums at sites in Bankstown (26 May), Campbelltown (31 May), Warwick Farm (8 June) and Mittagong (14 June).
At the forums, SWSPHN Chief Executive Officer, Dr Keith McDonald (PhD), will present our new Strategic Plan and discuss a number of current PHN activities.
There will also be a short presentation about what the Care Finder program is, how it is going to change the aged care sector and what information is needed to help guide the development of services.
The remainder of the forum will focus on gathering the insights and perspectives of health forum participants.
What is the Care Finder program?
The Care Finder program is a Commonwealth-funded aged care initiative. It is part of the response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care’s recommendation for more localised and face-to-face supports to help people navigate access to aged care services.
The PHN is aiming to fund “care finder” organisations to complement the existing My Aged Care single entry portal.
These organisations will help older people with intensive assistance to navigate the My Aged Care system and access aged care service support in the community.
Service delivery is expected to begin in January 2023.
Get involved
If you are interested in attending one of our local health forums, visit our Eventbrite page and register for the forum in your area.
Can’t attend a forum?
If you can’t attend a face-to-face forum, please fill in our survey to help us understand how local residents navigate aged care services and how we can improve this.