Greater capacity and capabilities for Western NSW Aboriginal Medical Services (AMSs) to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents living with chronic disease will be delivered by the revised Integrated Team Care (ITC) Program that comes into effect on 1 January next year.
Local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with a Chronic Illness will be able to access the ITC Program from January 1, 2023, via the Condobolin Aboriginal Health Service.
They are among nine service providers who already have secured their contract to provide the program. Discussions are continuing with one final AMS that are also set to join the initiative.
In addition to this, WNSW PHN is also currently securing secondary providers via a tender process to offer additional access points to care through the ITC Program. Successful providers are set to be awarded contracts this month.
The ITC Program is funded by the Australian Government to improve outcomes for Aboriginal people through better access to coordinated and multidisciplinary care and improve access to culturally appropriate mainstream primary care services.
Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN) is currently working with and supporting Western NSW AMSs to ensure the program is set for full implementation by the beginning of 2023.
The existing ITC Program has been delivered by Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation since 2016 under the Marrabinya name, but is being revised following an extensive review, consultation and co-design process that commenced in July 2021.
The Marrabinya Program is continuing with full funding to the end of December 2022 when the new ITC Program will become fully operational to ensure no disruption to services.
WNSW PHN have categorically stated they have never planned, at any time, to cancel or de-fund the ITC Program.
“Involving numerous health partners, stakeholders, peak bodies, Aboriginal representative groups and members of the community, the consultation and co-design process identified that the ITC Program would best serve residents requiring care by being accessible through their local Aboriginal Health Service, as well as also including care coordination services to assist patients in navigating an often-complex healthcare system to access any specialist care they require,” a WNSW PHN statement said.
“Both measures have been identified as being able to boost the effectiveness of the ITC Program and result in more people getting access to the chronic disease care they require and enjoying improved health and wellbeing.
“All AMSs within the WNSW PHN region have now been offered a direct contract to manage the delivery of service directly to their patients, while also having the option to contract other organisations to deliver the service on their behalf.”
WNSW PHN CEO Andrew Coe, says that patients accessing the existing program are the priority focus as the transition of services takes place.
“Patients receiving care can rest assured that at no time has WNSW PHN planned to defund the ITC Program. Maari Ma has been provided with full funding to continue delivering the existing ITC Program under the Marrabinya name through to the end of December (2022) and we will be corroborating diligently with the existing and new service providers to make sure the experience of patients is as smooth as possible during this transition period,” he stated.
“As a commissioner of services, it is our responsibility to conduct regular reviews of all services that we commission to ensure they’re delivering in the best possible way for our region’s residents and their care outcomes, and where opportunities for improvements have been identified, to implement those efficiently and effectively.
“We are very excited that the revised ITC Program is giving us the opportunity to support the enhancement of capacity and capability in our region’s Aboriginal Medical Services (AMSs) and deliver even better health outcomes for Indigenous people living with chronic disease in Western NSW,” said Mr Coe.
Mr Coe added “We remain thankful to Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation for its delivery of the ITC Program since 2016 and to those that have contacted us with their concerns regarding the program. We appreciate that you are just as invested as we are in seeing constant improvements in the delivery and access to programs and services that benefit the health and wellbeing of people living in our region.”
All information and regular updates regarding the ITC Program are available on the WNSW PHN website, at https://wnswphnm.org.au/itc