Message from the CEO

Message from the CEO

In times of distress, where lives and livelihoods are lost, where much trauma has been experienced, it is a worthy pursuit to reflect on important elements of why we do the work we do and the meaning it brings.

Gippsland, a vast geographic, breathtakingly beautiful region; a region that has experienced the worst bushfires in history, following years of drought and now in the midst of a pandemic.

What are we left with? Where is our strength? We are left with each other. We find our strength in connections and in our relationships with our families, friends, partners, peers, colleagues, our workplaces and our communities. It is our connection to our true north where we find that strength. For the PHN our true north is the pursuit to improve health outcomes, in all that we do. What matters is how we use our experiences and relationships to bring life and learning to foster change and improvement throughout Gippsland.

For those of us in organisations tasked with health and improving health outcomes, we have much opportunity to work side by side; we must rally the strength and resources to devote ourselves to help our communities, our region, our world – to make it a better place. And so, every day we do.

The PHN is deeply devoted to its community; the team at the PHN is obsessed with improving health outcomes for Gippslanders. It was with anticipation and commitment, collectively working with external stakeholders, that we created a refreshed strategic plan with objectives set to achieve our vision, frame our purpose and set our strategic objectives. It was also important to bring to life what this means internally and to our communities.

Our vision, purpose and values, our strategic objectives, are imprinted in all that we do and as each year goes by, we will continue to work tirelessly to achieve them. I share with you a number of internal organisational descriptors of how we connect our work to our heart, soul and mind.

Our Heart is Our Vision: A measurably healthier Gippsland

Our Head is Our Purpose: Best health outcomes and access to quality care through a unified approach to health

Our Soul, Our Values: Community Centred, Ethical and Respectful, Innovative, Accountable and Committed to Quality

Our strategic objectives are highlighted within this report and I am pleased to share our work on progress of our priority issues, building strong local capability, enabling borderless systems and ensuring access to services is achieved.

Thank you to our partners, our commissioned services providers, our primary care providers, our staff and our many, many partners. Thank you for your hard work, your commitment and your energy – it takes a lot of effort to make an impact. The heavy lifting is worth it, especially when we do it together.

I acknowledge and thank members of the Clinical Councils and Community Advisory Committee for their generous assistance and wise advice, their leadership and guidance throughout the year. I also acknowledge the support from my hardworking and inspiring Executive colleagues.

Most importantly, I acknowledge our incredible staff who have worked with passion, agility, resilience, determination and kindness, and the inimitable leadership of our Chair, Therese Tierney and Directors of Gippsland PHN.They provide a solid foundation to drive our strategic priorities forward and secure a robust platform for collaborative partnerships for the pursuit of our vision–a measurably healthier Gippsland. Their rigour and robust oversight cause us to be stronger at every step we take.

Amanda Proposch, Chief Executive Officer, Gippsland PHN.