A message from the CEO

As we wrap up 2024, I want to share my thanks for another incredible year.

It has been a year of great progress for Darling Downs and West Moreton PHN, with many milestones resulting from extensive preparatory work. Together, we delivered two Medicare Mental Health Centres and three Medicare Urgent Care Clinics. These key services, along with many other achievements, are much in thanks to the productive partnership of local primary care, our commissioned providers, and health and cross-system partners.

Thank you to our stakeholders, our Board of Directors, and the PHN staff for your dedication in delivering the programs and services that enable local communities to access affordable, timely and appropriate healthcare.

While there have been many achievements this year, below are some of my highlights:

Primary care

We opened a third Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Goodna, joining our established clinics in Ipswich and Toowoomba. Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) provide free, urgent treatment for conditions that aren't life-threatening. This new option is already helping to reduce the rate of unnecessary emergency department presentations at local hospitals.

Our Primary Care team have established new programs including the Patient Care Facilitator Program, and the ‘In their hands’ cervical cancer self-screening initiative, which contributed to a rise in both overall screening and self-screening (20% to 34%). The Maternity Symposium, Meet and Greets and other education and networking opportunities connected us with hundreds of brilliant health professionals with a shared interest in delivering better outcomes for the region.

Mental health

Mental health was a significant focus this year with the formal opening of Medicare Mental Health Centres in Kingaroy and Ipswich. Excitingly, a third centre is on the way for Warwick. Co-design and planning are currently underway ahead of the establishment of the new centre in 2025. We also introduced a Your Experience of Service (YES) survey to clients of the mental health services we fund to learn what is working well and what could be improved. The insights shone a spotlight on the fact that most people feel welcome (89%) and that their decision-making rights are respected (83%).

Healthy communities

Our work to improve the health of local communities included the establishment of Healthy Ageing Support, a preventative program that connects older people to primary care, community, and at-home services with the goal of enabling them to remain in their own home for as long as possible. We are also focused on giving young people the healthiest start in life through the development of an Early Years Strategy which will be operationalised in the new year. In October we were proud to launch our new RAP Innovate 2024-2026, formalising the next step in our reconciliation journey.

Engagement

This year we were proud to establish new innovative channels of communication, including our first podcast — GPs in a Pod. The podcast is connecting with local GPs, reaching over 1,000 downloads and placement in the Top 100 chart for health podcasts. We also embedded our General Practice Portal and Find the right care website, and launched the Services Library and Virtual Library to make finding information easier for our stakeholders. Our TALK ABOUT campaign has run for its fourth year, engaging with another 735 people to ensure our Health Needs Assessment is informed by the voice of our community.

To hear more from our team about our collaborative achievements in 2024, click below to watch our End of Year Video 2024.

On behalf of the Darling Downs and West Moreton PHN, thank you for your partnership this year. We wish you a safe and happy break and look forward to seeing you all in 2025!

Yours sincerely,

Lucille Chalmers

Chief Executive Officer