Community Health Demand Management Toolkit Release
Did you know that the Community Health Demand Management Toolkit has been released by the Department of Health?
Service demand for Community Health Services is continuing to increase and is being influenced by factors such as an ageing population, workforce supply, and increases in chronic disease prevalence. Demand management is critical to ensuring consumers get access to the right care at the right time.
The Demand Management Toolkit was developed in consultation with the community health sector from July to December 2022, and released May 2023.
Purpose of the Toolkit
The purpose of the Toolkit is to ensure that consumers have:
- Timely access to treatment for better health outcomes
- Equity of access and service delivery across the state
- Priority access for those with the greatest need
The Toolkit is a practical and flexible resource designed to support Community Health services to deliver services effectively by considering access and demand management across the consumer journey. It has been designed using evidence-based strategies for managing health service demand, and particularly draws on the STAT Model developed by a research team led by Harding, Lewis, and Taylor at Eastern Health and La Trobe University. This team has now been commissioned by the Department of Health to deliver toolkit training and assist community health services to develop strategies to address their waitlists.
A series of workshops for community health service providers and an accompanying online community of practice will be launched in the coming months.
For More Information
Or contact Kellie Angel, Project Manager, at kellie.angel@easternhealth.org.au