Allied health Archives | South Western Sydney PHN

21 February 2025

Empower those at risk of, or experiencing chronic disease, to better manage their condition through sustainable healthy eating and activity practises.

Accredited exercise physiologists and physiotherapists are invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to receive a grant of up to $42,000 to deliver the Healthy Eating Active Lifestyle (HEAL) Program within South Western Sydney.

Procurement summary

SWSPHN is commissioning accredited exercise physiologists and physiotherapists to deliver the HEAL program across all seven local government areas in South Western Sydney.

Commissioned providers will be encouraged to connect with solo and small GP practices who do not receive Workforce Incentive Payment (WIP) funding, helping to improve access to allied health services and support multidisciplinary care.

Providers will also be encouraged to supervise university students from the University of Sydney and Western Sydney University on clinical placements, contributing to the development of the future allied health workforce.

SWSPHN is funding the HEAL program to ensure it is free for participants, making it accessible to more people in South Western Sydney, with a focus on vulnerable populations. The program aims to reduce the risk and impact of chronic conditions like stroke, obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disease by promoting healthier lifestyles.

By providing this service at no cost, the program helps prevent avoidable hospitalisations, supports multidisciplinary care, and strengthens collaboration between GPs and allied health professionals. It also raises awareness of the role of allied health in prevention and well-being, ensures equitable access to services, and contributes to evidence supporting better integration of allied health in primary care.

About HEAL

HEAL is an evidence-based lifestyle modification program aimed at chronic disease prevention. It is designed to build the capacity of individuals to develop sustainable healthy eating and exercise practises, and to foster community connections and a supportive social environment through group activities.

SWSPHN will fully subsidise successful applicants to deliver the service at no cost to patients.

Tertiary-trained, accredited allied health professionals who have completed HEAL facilitator training will deliver the program, which consists of a pre-program assessment, eight two-hour education and exercise sessions, post-program assessment and follow-ups after five and 12-months.

HEAL facilitators in some settings will work within allied health teams to co-deliver the program, while others will operate on an individual basis. Funded

Program objectives are to:

reduce the risk of chronic diseases linked to sedentary lifestyles, poor diet and/or, minimise the impact and complications of existing chronic conditions, such as stroke, metabolic disease, obesity and diabetes, in South Western Sydney
decrease preventable hospitalisations and support secondary prevention of chronic diseases
increase awareness of the role allied health professionals play in primary care, prevention and overall wellbeing
strengthen collaboration between GPs and allied health providers to support integrated, multidisciplinary care
provide equitable access to allied health services in South Western Sydney
contribute to evidence supporting stronger allied health integration into primary care

The opportunity includes:

An 18-month contract with SWSPHN
subsidised HEAL training and 6.5 CPD hours (worth $410)
a maximum contract value of $42,000, covering 216 hours of structured program delivery

Project timeline

Action	Date
EOI opens	21 February 2025
Information session	27 February 2025
Last queries	14 March 2025
EOI closure	21 March 2025
Evaluation period	21 March – 4 April 2025
Successful applicant notified and contract negotiations	Early April 2025
Finalise contract	Mid-April 2025
Unsuccessful applicants notified	Late April 2025
Contract commencement	31 May 2025

Notice downloads

Notice of Expression of Interest [11 pages | PDF | 343kb]

Notice attachments:

Commissioned Services Agreement Contract Terms and Conditions [39 pages | PDF | 475kb]
Activity workplan template [3 pages | Word | 1.2mb]
Information session flyer [ 1 page | Word | 148kb]

Information session downloads

An information session was held 27 February 2025. Below is the slideshow and questions from this session:

Information session presentation [24 pages | PDF | 830kb]
Information session questions and answers [2 pages | PDF | 170kb]

Submissions

Expressions of Interest close at 5pm on Friday, 21 March 2025. Apply online, or download a PDF application form (5 pages | PDF | 130kb) and email your submission to alliedhealth@swsphn.com.au.

Apply online or

Download application form

Enquiries

Enquiries regarding this notification can be directed to Bianca Walsh – SWSPHN Primary Care Workforce Manager on email alliedhealth@swsphn.com.au.

20 February 2025

South Western Sydney PHN (SWSPHN) is supporting a research project evaluating two new local healthcare strategies aimed at improving chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care and patient management. This study seeks to enhance access to evidence-based care, helping people with COPD receive the right support in primary care settings.

The project is called: A primary care Multi-Disciplinary Team care approach, including Pulmonary REhabilitation, to improve uptake and outcomes of comprehensive evidence-based care for COPD (MDT-PuRe-Primary Care). It aims to evaluate these new strategies compared to usual GP management of COPD.

The two strategies being evaluated will provide patients with access to:

three sessions with trained registered nurses to provide multidisciplinary team care planning with the GP for people with COPD

and/or

an eight-week pulmonary rehabilitation program in primary care (PuRe Primary Care) delivered by private exercise physiologists or physiotherapists in the local community

SWSPHN is working with researchers from the University of Sydney to recruit general practices from across our region to participate in the study. General practices will use PEN CAT or POLAR to identify eligible patients (aged 40+ with COPD, no recent exacerbations, and able to participate in group exercise). Patients who consent to participate will be randomised into one of four intervention groups.

In addition to being provided with support to help your patients better manage their COPD, benefits of participation include access to an online training package and professional development opportunities, development of local clinical networks and financial incentives.

If you are managing patients with COPD and would be interested in knowing more about participating in this study, please contact Sydney University Lead Researcher Sarah Dennis on 0459 898 398 or at mdt-pure-primary-care.study@sydney.edu.au

Download this letter for more information about the study

12 July 2024

Service providers are vital in understanding community health needs. If you offer NDIS support, mental health support, community links, allied health services, or work in a similar role, we want to hear from you.

Share your insights on the health needs of Wollondilly Shire at the Wollondilly Service Providers Focus Group in August.

Wollondilly Service Providers Focus Group

Wednesday, 14 August 2024, 10-11:30am in Wollondilly Shire Hall.
62-64 Menangle Street Shire Hall Picton.

Morning tea provided.

Reserve your spot

This face-to-face focus group is an alternative to the expressions of interest sought for one-on-on interviews.

16 April 2024

Exercise is Medicine (EIM) Australia empowers primary healthcare providers to effectively counsel patients about physical activity leading to sustained behaviour change.

The initiative promotes evidence-based screening to easily identify when and how to refer patients to appropriately trained allied health professionals to deliver exercise treatment.

The EIM website provides a range of resources (including free RACGP-accredited training) to support GPs and health professionals incorporate physical activity counselling and education as a part of their routine appointments.

The website also has a helpful search function which enables GPs to search for local exercise physiologists and physiotherapists within their area.

For those interested in the free RACGP accredited training, the following topics are covered:

how exercise can be used to prevent and manage patient chronic conditions
recognise the importance of graded exercise therapy in relation to patient safety
recall key aspects of the Australian Physical Activity guidelines
describe behaviour change strategies specific to the adoption of physical activity
outline existing physical activity assessment tools in medical software including Medical Director and Best Practice

Find more information by:

22 January 2024

The Allied Health Academy is hosting a webinar for allied health assistants (AHA) on Wednesday, 21 February from 3pm to 4pm which will introduce some of the challenges and benefits of working in paediatric private practice.

The webinar, Five skills needed as a paediatric AHA Working in the NDIS space, is free but registration is essential.

07 August 2023

State-wide Referral Criteria (SRC) are clinical decision-support tools which give health professionals the referral criteria they need to refer their patients to public specialist outpatient services across NSW.

SRC helps people who need to see a health professional in a NSW public specialist outpatient service be referred and prioritised in a safe and timely way.

They support patients and the health professionals looking after them to make a referral and assist NSW public specialist outpatient services with screening and triaging these referrals.

Please visit the NSW Health website for more information.

10 May 2023

The strong focus on primary care, with the tripling of the bulk billing incentive and investment in the health workforce to better meet the health needs of the Australians in the 21st century, were among the welcome features of Tuesday’s Federal Budget.

South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) Acting Chief Executive Officer, Kristen Short, said there was little doubt primary care had been struggling in recent years, with fewer practices in a position to bulk bill, further highlighting the need for strong and ongoing funding commitment for the sector.

“The $3.5 billion committed to bulk billing incentives, $98.2 million for new Medicare rebates for patients who require consultations of longer than 60 minutes and $445.1 million to support team-based care in general practice, are welcome measures to support the revival and protection of a healthcare system which has served us well for decades,” she said.

Other investments of interest to primary care, in particular general practices in South Western Sydney include:

$358.5 million for Medicare Urgent Care Clinics
$143.9 million for after hours primary care
$91.5 million to improve mental health by addressing workforce shortages

Ms Short said SWSPHN had a particular focus on innovative projects like iRAD, the New to General Practice Nursing program and My Care Partners to build capacity and support our general practices in delivering accessible, effective and timely care to our community.

She noted investment in digital health ($951.2 million); increasing the number of nurses in primary care ($10.7 million); and increasing incentives for general practices to employ a range of health professionals to provide team-based primary care ($445.1 million) would support those projects which were already improving the health of our region.

“Primary care is the cornerstone of our healthcare system, and SWSPHN looks forward to continuing to work with and support primary care providers across our region on the projects, services and other activities funded in this budget.

“We particularly welcome the focus in the budget on multidisciplinary team care and voluntary patient enrolment and look forward to seeing how it complements our local medical neighbourhood model of care, My Care Partners, which has been working for the past two years to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and enhance care coordination for people with multiple chronic diseases.”

02 May 2023

The Australian Government says a $2.2 billion package of Strengthening Medicare measures will address immediate challenges in primary care, take pressure off the hospital system and lay the foundations for long-term Medicare reform.

The measures announced on Friday, 28 April aim to deliver on the recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report and will be funded through the Strengthening Medicare Fund.

The measures include:

Supporting workforces to work at top of scope, including pharmacists, paramedics
Expanding the nursing workforce to improve access to primary care
Improving access to and delivery of after-hours primary care
Introducing My Medicare to support wrap around care for patients registered with their local GP through new blended payment models
Providing flexible funding for multi-disciplinary team-based models to improve quality of care.
Investing in digital health to improve health outcomes

The Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said the government was committed to ensuring all Australians, no matter their income or where they lived, could access the healthcare they needed, when and where they needed it.

“The Government is strengthening Medicare for future generations – by addressing current challenges and seizing opportunities to improve the health and aged care system.”

This table provides an overview of the measures announced on Friday.

Further details on the funding of these policies will be provided in next Tuesday’s Federal Budget.

12 January 2023

A webinar recording is now available to provide allied health professionals with information on the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS), how to use an interpreter and how to access the service.

Allied health professionals in private practice, delivering services to patients within Fairfield and Liverpool local government areas, can now access the free TIS.

Visit the Department of Home Affairs website for information on eligibility, how to apply and for frequently asked questions.

Watch the webinar

02 September 2022

Liverpool Hospital’s P2 car park (off Campbell Street) will permanently close from 6am on Thursday, 15 September, and will be replaced with the new P2 car park, with access via Burnside Drive.

Learn more

Download the visitor’s map

Public access:

Visitors will be required to use the new P2 car park for hospital parking, accessible between 6am to 10pm daily, via Burnside Drive
Hospital access from the car park will be via Entrance J, open 24 hours
P3 car park remains available for public parking, accessible between 6am to 10pm daily, via Burnside Drive

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Topic: Allied health