Better access to healthcare for South Australia’s priority population
Aged care is a National Priority Area for Adelaide PHN – we aim to facilitate and establish person centred services that enable and empower older people, with the involvement of their families and carers, to live well and independently in our community.
As part of the Australian Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Royal Commission), PHN’s nationally have received additional funding to support improving access to primary care and aged care services for senior Australians. This funding will enable us to build upon the existing services we already commission in the aged care space.
To access our full suite of commissioned services, please visit our directory.
Adelaide PHN will be expanding upon these existing services in the coming months. Updates will be made available via this page.
For any questions or for more information around what Adelaide PHN is doing in the aged care space, please get in touch with our team by emailing ageingwell@adelaidephn.com.au.
The objectives of the grant opportunity are to:
• Improve awareness (workforce and community) and access to safe, quality palliative care at home and support end-of-life care systems and services in primary health care and community care
• Enable the right care, at the right time and in the right place to reduce unnecessary hospitalisations
• Generate and use data to support continuous improvement of services across sectors
• Use available technologies to support flexible and responsive palliative care at home, including in the after-hours.
The intended outcomes of the grant opportunity are to improve:
• The capacity and responsiveness of services to meet local needs and priorities
• Patient access to quality palliative care services available in the home
• Coordination of care for patients, across health care providers and integration of palliative care services in their region
Adelaide PHN will work collaboratively with key organisations to provide cultural and societal changes needed to move towards greater choice for people to remain at home and die at home supporting a compassionate communities approach. The Program will also focus on vulnerable populations groups in the community. The Compassionate Communities Model will focus on Palliative, End of Life and Bereavement with
• People at the end of life
• Families and carers
• Communities
• Broader health, aged care and social systems.
To find out more, please see our website directory listing.
The HealthPathways team have developed aged care and dementia specific pathways to assist people to navigate the complex systems through which care and support is provided.
To find out more about HealthPathways and specific information relating to the aged care and dementia pathways, please visit the HealthPathways platform.
Adelaide PHN has been facilitating the residential aged care COVID-19 winter vaccine program across our region. We have also commissioned services to support in-home COVID vaccinations for community members who are unable to attend a COVID vaccination clinic. The service supports our most vulnerable community, including people with disability and residential aged care residents to get vaccinated.
To find out more, please see our website directory listing.
These services provide free onsite low-intensity services and psychological therapies for people living in residential aged care facilities across metropolitan Adelaide. Services are available for residents ‘at risk’ of or experiencing mild to moderate mental illness (Supporting Emotional Wellness in Aged Care Program); or with a diagnosed mental illness that is severe in nature and will benefit from short-term psychological therapies (Connected in Wellbeing Program). Low Intensity services and psychological therapies provided are evidence based, short-term, and delivered via an in-reach model as either individual or group sessions.
To find out more, please see our website directory listing.
Eleven organisations will provide Care Finder Program in Adelaide Primary Health Network (Adelaide PHN) region until 30 June 2025.
The Care Finder Program supports vulnerable older Australians who require intensive assistance to access aged care and other supports. The program was developed in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety report. The program supports a workforce of care finders to provide one to one support to assist people navigate and access aged care. The program complements the My Aged Care channels, providing greater access and support to people who experience problems navigating the My Aged Care system.
The outcome of our recent Request for Proposal process resulted in four organisations being awarded contracts to deliver the Care Finder Program. A further seven organisations have transitioned from the Assistance with Care and Housing (ACH) program to the Care Finder Program.
The new organisations providing the Care Finder Program are: Council of the Ageing South Australia Inc (COTA SA), Seniors Information Service, UnitingCare Wesley Bowden Incorporated (UCWB), and Aged Rights Advocacy Service (S.A.) Inc (ARAS).
The organisations transitioning to the Care Finder Program are: City of Onkaparinga, Hutt Street Centre, Resthaven Inc, Anglicare SA, City of Salisbury, Offenders Aid and Rehabilitation Service SA Inc (OARS) and Adelaide Day Centre for Homeless Persons Inc.
The Telehealth in RACF program has been designed to support RACFs with funding for the purchase of virtual health devices and Telehealth training. This will enable RACFs provide their residents with timely and appropriate healthcare using virtual technology. The intended outcomes of the program are:
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People living in RACFs in the Adelaide PHN region have increased access to effective and appropriate telehealth services, both in and out of hours.
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General Practitioners that support RACFs in the Adelaide PHN region, and their staff, are supported, trained, and equipped to provide medical services to residents virtually.
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RACFs in the Adelaide PHN region, and their staff, are supported, trained, and equipped to support and facilitate telehealth access for their residents.
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RACFs in the Adelaide PHN region are supported to implement procedures for keeping residents’ digital medical records up to date.
The grant application process for the Telehealth in RACFs program is currently open, please visit Folio to submit an application. If you have any questions or would like more information about the program, please contact our team via digitalhealthinfo@adelaidephn.com.au or call 08 8219 5900.
The Toolkit has been developed by Bollen Health as part of the Early Identification of Frailty project commissioned by Adelaide Primary Health Network 2023-24. This project has a focus on people aged 40-70 years, but the approach is also applicable for people aged over 70.
Find the PDF here: Increasing General Practice Frailty Screening