North west-based Rural Health Tasmania Inc has been announced as a provider of primary health care services for the Kentish municipality.
Rural Health Tasmania is one of five organisations which successfully tendered to deliver services for people living with chronic conditions under an Australian Government-funded program aimed at improving the health outcomes of people in rural communities.
Primary Health Tasmania – which manages the funding program in Tasmania – commissioned Rural Health Tasmania in December 2016 to deliver services in Circular Head, King Island, Waratah/Wynyard and the West Coast from January this year. Kentish will now also be included.
A Primary Health Tasmania spokesperson said the Kentish community had expressed concern about access to health care under changes to the funding of rural primary health services.
“In addition, Primary Health Tasmania had identified some service gaps in Kentish which were not covered by suitable tenders,” the spokesperson said.
Rural Health Tasmania expects to begin delivering services in Kentish for people with chronic health conditions from mid-January, and will work alongside the community’s existing medical services as well as with Diabetes Tasmania, Cancer Council Tasmania and the Tasmanian Health Service.
Rural Health Tasmania and Primary Health Tasmania met yesterday with local service providers and Kentish Council representatives to begin discussions around service priorities, including gaps in clinical care for people with one or more chronic illnesses.
“In addition to funding for the new rural primary health services, Primary Health Tasmania has provided transition funding to Tandara Lodge Community Care Inc until 31 March to ensure people using previously funded services can safely transition to other clinical services,” the spokesperson said.
More information about the new rural primary health care funding program is available on the Primary Health Tasmania website: www.primaryhealthtas.com.au/commissioning/rural-primary-health-services-commissioning
Primary Health Tasmania is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation working to connect care and keep Tasmanians well and out of hospital. It was established on 1 July 2015 under the Australian Government’s Primary Health Networks Program to support and enable a coordinated, primary care-focused health system.
Jenny Denholm Communications Manager
