Preliminary Report Northern Australia Health Roundtable (NAHRT) May 2014 Preliminary Report
The Greater Northern Australia Regional Training Network (GNARTN) is a cross-jurisdictional collaboration between the Health Departments of Western Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory funded by Health Workforce Australia (HWA) through jurisdictional Integrated Regional Clinical Training Networks (IRCTN). This report was commissioned by the GNARTN Council. The findings, outcomes and recommendations contained in this report do not constitute agreement or endorsement from the individual partners or government who are party to the GNARTN Council and or its process. GNARTN hosted the Northern Australia Health Roundtable, on behalf of the Director Generals and Chief Executive of the Health Department of Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. GNARTN would like to acknowledge the significant contribution made by the Northern Territory Department of Health toward hosting the Northern Australia Health Roundtable. This work may be reproduced in whole or in part for the purposes of study, training and personal use with appropriate acknowledgement. Enquiries concerning this report and its reproduction should be directed to: Senior Director, Greater Northern Australia Regional Training Network Post PO Box 6811, Cairns QLD 4870 Telephone 07 4042 1747 Email Internet director@gnartn.org.au www.gnartn.org.au Suggested citation: Greater Northern Australia Regional Training Network. (2014) Preliminary Report: Northern Australia Health Roundtable, available online at http://www.gnartn.org.au/publications/
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Background: The north of Australia has unique health issues which are impacted by issues relating to access to health services, the health disparity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, maintaining a sustainable workforce and management of tropical diseases. The north of Australia also provides a range of opportunities relating to delivery of international healthcare and health professional education and training due to proximity to Asia and its increasing demand for high quality health professional training programs, led in part by a policy commitment via APEC to universal coverage. In 2012, the Director-Generals of Health in South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Health Chief Executive in the Northern Territory met to consider priorities to progress a range of remote health initiatives in Northern Australia. Ten priorities were identified and work is underway to progress many of these priorities within what is known as the Remote Health Project. In late 2012, the Greater Northern Australia Regional Training Network (GNARTN) was formed by the Director-Generals for Health in Queensland and Western Australia, and the Chief Executive of the Northern Territory, to focus on driving collaboration to enhance clinical education and training opportunities across the three jurisdictions. GNARTN is funded collaboratively by the partner jurisdictions using Regional Training Network funding provided by Health Workforce Australia. This has provided a model to facilitate co-investment on issues of common concern and has supported effective cross jurisdictional communication and collaboration. A federal Joint Select Committee is currently developing a white paper on the future development of northern Australia. GNARTN and the Remote Health Project have sought to inform the committee s considerations, suggesting that with the proposed population increased in northern Australia over the next 30 years, and the growing demand for health professional education and training, there is need to consider a high level operational mechanism embedded within northern Australia which can continue to build upon the outcomes that have been achieved to date.
Purpose of the Northern Australia Health Roundtable: To consider the health and workforce related issues of northern Australia, and explore opportunities to better collaborate, communicate and share health innovation across the jurisdictional boundaries; To build upon current approaches to increase inter-jurisdictional collaboration on key workforce and health system issues/ initiatives; To work towards an agreement to host a Northern Australia Ministers of Health Meeting in late 2014; and To inform the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia on practical solutions to significantly improve health services and health care provision through inter jurisdictional collaboration across the jurisdictional boundaries.
Outcomes from the Northern Australia Health Roundtable: A Northern Australia Health Roundtable (NAHRT) was held on the 8th of May 2014 in Darwin to discuss opportunities to better collaborate, communicate and share health innovation across the jurisdictional boundaries. The delegates of the Northern Australia Health Roundtable supported the position that there was value in continuing dialogue and collaboration between Western Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory and the Commonwealth. It is proposed that a second meeting of the Northern Australia Health Roundtable be held in late 2014, pending support from the Director Generals of Queensland and Western Australia, and the Chief Executive of the Northern Territory Department of Health. Four priority areas identified by the Northern Australia Health Roundtable delegates that could benefit from an integrated northern Australia collaborative approach include: Tropical Australian Centre for Disease Control; Northern Australia Telehealth Network; Resourcing models to meet the northern Australia health service needs Workforce innovation and reform strategies with a focus on developing a northern Australia generalist health professional. There was agreement that in northern Australia there are many examples of innovative service delivery and workforce solutions that have evolved locally and have potential benefit to be shared across the northern Australia region. It was also acknowledged that there are opportunities to learn from, to invest in, and generalise these models to meet local service requirements. There was strong support for the work that GNARTN has been undertaking over the past 18 months. While it was recognized that three of the four priority areas identified by the delegates currently sit outside of the scope of GNARTN funding and terms of reference, the work of GNARTN in enabling and enhancing clinical placement capacity in northern Australia, as a mechanism to facilitate shared development of and innovative approaches to clinical training, workforce reform, and models of care, is significant and unprecedented. Agreement was reached by the delegates of the Northern Australia Health Roundtable that advice would be sought from the Director Generals and Chief Executive of the jurisdictional health departments as to a way forward. Pending agreement from the Director Generals and Chief Executives of the health departments, a second meeting of the Northern Australia Health Roundtable will be held in late 2014.
Overview of 4 Proposed Initiatives (conceptual 1 ): Tropical Australian Centre for Disease Control Strengthen surveillance and responsiveness to current and emerging public health issues; building upon existing infrastructure, networks and intellectual capacity to respond to emerging public health issues in northern Australia. Northern Australia Telehealth Network An integrated telehealth network, utilising new technologies (PCEHR, apps, telehealth health online MIMS, PCCM and CARPA) to deliver health care supported by innovative workforce and clinical service models, professional support and education, clinical supervision and support, to regional, rural and remote health professionals. Resourcing models to meet the northern Australia health service needs Explore the opportunity to develop new funding and governance models across northern Australia to meet the changing health needs of the northern communities. Workforce innovation and reform strategies focus on developing a northern Australia generalist health professional Support the investment made by GNARTN to continue to focus on northern Australia health professional workforce training and support to promote specialist generalist health professionals across all health disciplines, including clinical training, model of care, and clinical governance. 1 The concepts described below are informed by the discussion of the delegates. Further development and scoping would be required prior to the second Northern Australia Health Roundtable meeting.
Northern Australia Health Roundtable Delegates Commonwealth/Health Workforce Australia Ms Penny Shakespeare First Assistant Secretary Health Workforce Division, Department of Health & Ageing Mr George Beltchev Executive Consultant, Health Workforce Australia Northern Territory Dr Leonard Notaras Chief Executive Officer, NT Department of Health, Executive Sponsor of GNARTN Professor Dinesh Arya Chief Medical Officer / Member GNARTN Council Ms Sue Korner Ms Wendy Ah Chin Prof John Wakerman Chief Operating Officer, Central Australian Health Service Executive Director Aboriginal Health Policy & Engagement, NT Department of Health Associate Dean, Flinders University NT Western Australia: Ms Melissa Vernon Mr Chris Pickett Chair GNARTN / Executive Director Primary Health Care, WACHS CEO Kimberly Pilbara Medicare Local Queensland: Mr Philip Davies Mr Paul Stafford DDG, System Policy & Performance, Queensland Government, Department of Health Director Leadership & Education Networks, Queensland Health (Proxy for Ms Bron Nardi, Member GNARTN Council ) Ms Julie Hartley-Jones CEO Cairns & Hinterland HHS (Cairns) Professor Ian Wronski GNARTN Council Member / Deputy Vice Chancellor, James Cook University Ms Pele Bennet Mr Paul Woodhouse General Manager Sector Development QAIHC (proxy for Mr Selwyn Button CEO QAIHC) Chair of North West HHS (Mount Isa)
Greater Northern Australia Regional Training Network Dr Scott Davis Ms Neroli Stayt Senior Director GNARTN Secretariat / Project Manager GNARTN Northern Australia Health Roundtable Apologies noted for the minutes Mr David Williamson Mr David Hazelhurst Ms Matty McConchie Mr Ben Wallace First Assistant Secretary, Northern Australia Taskforce, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet First Assistant Secretary, Economic Division at Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Assistant Secretary, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Executive Director, Clinical Training Reform, HWA W/Prof Geoffrey Riley Rural Clinical School, University of WA Ms Sally Clark Ms Stephanie Trust Dr Mark Wenitong Mr Selwyn Button Mr Jeff Moffet Ms Annette Burke Associate Dean of Nursing, Notre Dame University, Broome WA Deputy Medical Director, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Council Inc. Public Health Medical Advisor, Apunipima Cape York Health Council CEO, Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council CEO, Western Australia Country Health Chair, Top End Health Service Board Hon Warren Entsch MP Federal Member for Leichhardt Mr Henry Councillor CEO, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service