Integrated
Staffing Model
In the last three years, KWHB has implemented a new integrated staffing model under the Commonwealth Healthy for Life program. This implementation occurred over time and after a great deal of consultation by staff. The new model basically meant that our clinical and population health streams have become more integrated with greater collaboration.
Our corporate and administrative support has been organised around the priority focus of remote health service delivery. This initiative has meant a less hierarchical organisational structure, resulting in more sharing of information across work portfolios. It has also meant that there is a more central focus to our primary health care leadership and has helped to reduce the tendency towards silo-ed work stations in the organisation. This is a very difficult outcome to achieve and requires sustained, persistent work considering the large geographical area KWHB has to cover and the inherent difficulties in communicating effectively.
A New Model of Health Leadership
An area that has been significantly reformed was that of ‘health leadership’. Previously the ‘clinical’ services provided by remote health centres and the ‘population–health’ services provided by the Katherine-based programs had evolved to be led by different managers, often with quite different approaches. These two schools of primary health services were brought together under a single ‘primary health care’ leadership team, with common aims, goals and strategies arising from close collaboration.
A valuable mechanism for reinforcing the integrated approach has been quarterly meetings, which bring members of the remote and town-based primary health service providers together with management and support staff. All members of the team are required to participate – ideas, experiences and problems pertaining to the delivery of services on the ground are shared face to face; priorities, goals and approaches for the team as a whole are clarified and reinforced so that everyone is moving in the same direction to improve better health outcomes for clients.