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Priority Two - Facilitate local capacity for the delivery of responsive, sustainable services
Strategies
Deliver a robust, contemporary, data-driven assessment of health needs and priorities in our communities
Create opportunities for collaboration and partnerships that strengthen primary health care outcomes
Deliver practical, tangible support to local primary health care services
Build skill, capability and knowledge within our primary health care providers to support their local community
Facilitating the capacity of local communities to help strengthen service delivery is a vital aspect of bridging the gap in health inequity in country South Australia.
Due to the regional and remote nature of our region, capacity building is essential for maintaining healthy communities. This is achieved by strengthening the capacity of local health services and health professionals as well as upskilling community members to have the capacity to support their peers and increase their connections to local primary health services.
The improved opportunities for collaboration that this community awareness enables, combined with a local health workforce with strengthened capacity, supports our Strategic Plan’s objectives to:
increase health equity amongst our communities
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of primary health care services
work with communities to enable access to the right care in the right place at the right time.
Supporting Regional Communities: MATES in Construction
Country SA PHN facilitates local capacity building for country South Australian communities by commissioning programs such as MATES in Construction SA’s suicide prevention training.
Country SA PHN continued to fund MATES in Construction SA (MATES SA) throughout 2023-24 enabling them to build on the strong foundations established over previous years to expand and reach more country South Australian workers and community members across a diverse range of industries.
Capacity building is at the core of the MATES program - equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills to identify when someone is struggling and connect them to the help they need. The three-tiered training model - General Awareness Training (GAT), Connector Training, and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) - empowers workers as they learn how to look out for their mates, not just at work but in their communities as well, helping create stronger, more connected communities.
In 2023-24, over 40 training sessions were delivered in country South Australia reaching close to a thousand workers and community members. Each session ends with a survey where participants can request follow-up support. Additionally, posttraining debriefs continue to offer a safe space for individuals to discuss personal challenges, ranging from mental health issues to past trauma, alcohol misuse, and relationship breakdowns.
The MATES program’s impact extends far beyond the training room. Feedback from follow-up surveys showed that 37% of participants had used the skills they learned to assist someone elsedemonstrating the effective way the program develops community capacity building in country South Australia.
An essential component of the MATES training is providing ongoing, meaningful support. The MATES model creates a peer-supported environment where people look out for each other every day, strengthening community resilience. With the continued support of Country SA PHN, MATES in Construction SA is not only preventing suicide but building a culture of care in country South Australian workplaces and beyond.
Survey Summary
93% agreed or strongly agreed they had learned the skills to notice signs or invitations that a workmate might be struggling with their mental health.
99% of respondents indicated the training had a positive or extremely positive impact on their workplace.
91% felt confident they could assist someone who needed help.
88% agreed or strongly agreed they would seek help if going through a difficult time, feeling upset, or thinking of suicide.
37% of respondents had used the skills learned in the training to assist a work colleague (52%), friend (38%), or a family member (23%).
14% had sought help for themselves.
Marilyn and Patrick were fantastic. They helped our group through this very informative training with empathy and confidence that was an obvious product of experience. I would approach either of them for advice helping others or support for myself without hesitation.
MATES SA Suicide Prevention Training Participant
Strengthening Medicare Grant support
Our Country SA PHN Primary Care and Digital Support team is central to supporting organisational objectives. The team provides wide ranging support to enable primary care providers to strengthen practice management. In 2023-24 this support included assisting country South Australian general practices with submitting their applications for Strengthening Medicare Grants. These Department of Health and Aged Care grants provided financial support for practices to invest in equipment, training or other activities related to digital health, infection prevention and control and accreditation.
Country SA PHN’s Primary Care Support team was committed to ensuring country South Australian general practices were able to access assistance the Strengthening Medicare Grants provided – allowing practices to continue to focus on patients while applying for grants to improve their capacity.
This strong engagement with general practices is just one of many ways in which we collaborate with primary healthcare and highlights the value that Country SA PHN provides in country South Australia. The work of our team directly reflects our commitment to our Strategic Plan’s second priority to facilitate local capacity for the delivery of responsive, sustainable services. This ties into our key objectives to increase health equity, through better efficiency and effectiveness of primary healthcare.
Use of Strengthening Medicare Grants across country South Australia
Enhancing digital health capability
upgraded their software to provide increased digital services for their community.
Infection prevention and control
focused on further strengthening of practice processes related to potentially infectious patients, including COVID-19 and influenza by purchasing new vaccine refrigerators and equipment sterilization units and upgrading the associated processes.
Accreditation
maintaining accreditation with the Royal Australasian College of General Practitioner (RACGP) Standards for General Practice - ensuring they will continue to achieve high levels of quality and safety.
A total of 144 country South Australian general practices received a Strengthening Medicare Grant. Country SA PHN assisted 7 practices who were initially deemed ineligible to successfully receive the grant.
GoShare Healthy Lifestyle Program
Country SA PHN supports primary care and country South Australian communities through the GoShare Healthy Lifestyle Program. This is a supportive program that seeks to address high levels of obesity and chronic conditions across country South Australia and support people to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.
The GoShare Healthy Lifestyle program enables general practitioners to send targeted lifestyle information through videos directly to patients’ smart phones. These videos provide healthy lifestyle education and encouragement from health professionals and inspiring personal stories of country South Australians’ experiences incorporating healthy habits into their lives. Renowned Co-Executive Director of the Embrace Collective Dr Zali Yager also shared her expertise to support general practitioners to appropriately engage with patients about the benefits a healthy lifestyle.
Question, Persuade, Refer Training
Another great example of community capacity building is the Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) training. Throughout 2023-24 Country SA PHN funded anyone living in country South Australia to complete the training free of charge. QPR training involves three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. It provides participants with:
Knowledge and skills to identify warning signs that someone may be suicidal.
Confidence to talk about suicidal thoughts
Capacity to connect people with professional care and support
Looking ahead
Aligning with our Strategic Plan to deliver practical, tangible support, and build genuine, strong relationships, we look forward to continuing to support primary healthcare providers to build local community capacity to improve country South Australians’ health and wellbeing.
