Don’t hang up when the phone rings and someone asks about your health priorities and needs, urges Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN) chief executive Andrew Harvey.
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This week he announced a telephone survey of more than 3000 households in a bid to garner “community views about health priorities and health service improvements” in the huge WNSW PHN region.
“We really encourage the people contacted to participate in the survey and be open about their experiences and their view of the health priorities in their community because we genuinely want to know,” Mr Harvey said.
Commissioning of the survey was a joint effort of the WNSW PHN and the Western NSW and Far West local health districts.
Market research company, Deborah Wilson Consulting Services, and survey fieldwork company, National Field Services, are conducting the survey.
“The results will give us reliable insights into the priorities and needs of people living in local council areas and in the region as a whole,” Mr Harvey said. “The telephone survey is one part of a wide review of health priorities, a needs analysis which will also include several workshops with community and service providers across the region in June and July.”
Mr Harvey said the views of the telephone survey respondents would help the WNSW PHN and the two local health districts to “better understand community priorities and strategically respond to these health needs”.
“Participants will also have opportunity to register their interest in providing feedback in the future on health issues and they can also request an email summary of the health survey report,” he said.
Mr Harvey is assuring respondents that “ all feedback remains confidential” and respondents are being randomly selected.
The WNSW PHN covers a region of 433,379 square kilometres. It takes in both the Western NSW and Far West local health districts across 27 local government areas.
The region is home to more than 309,900 people with the population predicted to increase by about six per cent to 329,470 by 2036. Currently 10.5 per cent of people in the region identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, compared with 2.8 per cent nationally.
The WNSW PHN is the largest PHN in NSW and one of 31 across Australia established by the federal government to support front line health services. It pays healthcare providers to deliver a range of primary healthcare services that are “appropriate and relevant to the needs” of communities.
For more information on the needs analysis including the upcoming workshops follow the WNSW PHN on Facebook @wnswphn or visit www.wnswphn.org.au.