
Partnering to support and improve the health and wellbeing of the Wollondilly community, the Wollondilly Health Alliance has been re-launched with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The alliance is a formal partnership between Wollondilly Shire Council, South Western Sydney Local Health District and SWSPHN. It was initially formed in March 2014 to connect services and improve health outcomes for the community.
Following a review of the previous governance structure and focus areas, the refreshed Wollondilly Health Alliance aims to apply a fresh and coordinated approach to meeting the diverse health and wellbeing needs of people in the Wollondilly Shire.
The new priorities for the Wollondilly Health Alliance over the period of the MoU include:
- Carrying out a health needs assessment for the growing Wollondilly community to support planning and advocacy for future health services
- Strengthening access to, and availability of, an integrated network of health services across the Wollondilly Shire including telemedicine
- Continuing to embed the principles of health and wellbeing into the council’s daily operations through joint training initiatives
- Increasing awareness about the impacts disasters have on health and wellbeing, and how communities can better prepare themselves
Wollondilly Mayor Matt Gould said Wollondilly Shire would face significant challenges over the next few years due to its growing population.
“We will continue to strongly advocate for the health services we need for our current and future communities,” he said.
“I look forward to working collaboratively through the Wollondilly Health Alliance to improve health outcomes for all our community members.”
South Western Sydney Local Health District Chief Executive Sonia Marshall said the alliance would draw on each partner’s strengths.
“By working together and sharing our expertise, skills and resources, the alliance has the potential to achieve greater outcomes collectively,” she said.
“We will deliver projects aimed at improving social connection and health access for the community, including trialing innovative approaches to shape the health care of the future.”
SWSPHN Chief Executive Officer, Dr Keith McDonald PhD, said the new MoU reflected the alliance’s evolution into a more results-oriented partnership.
“With the Wilton and Appin expansions, the population of Wollondilly is set to triple in the next 30 years,” he said.
“The alliance is focused on identifying what health services are needed to support this growing population, and ultimately, what we need to do to improve the health and wellbeing of Wollondilly residents.
“The alliance will be looking to better coordinate our preparedness for, and response to natural disasters, and to improve how virtual technologies are used to ensure local health services are working smarter, not harder.
“The new alliance structure allows us to build on the solid foundation of work undertaken during the past decade.”
CAPTION:
Back row (left to right):
Peter Buckley, Wollondilly Shire Council, Director Shire Services
Ben Neville, South Western Sydney Primary Health Network, Integration and Priority Populations Manager
Matt Gould, Wollondilly Mayor
Dr Keith McDonald, South Western Sydney Primary Health Network, Chief Executive Officer.
Front row (left to right):
Mandy Williams, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Director of Population Health
Sonia Marshall, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Chief Executive