Coordinated healthcare
closer to home

A small, geographically clustered network of health services, which function together as Healthcare Hubs, are providing services across four sites. The first Hubs program sites are in Kerang, Quambatook, Pyramid Hill and Boort.

Led by GPs and nurse practitioners, a multi-disciplinary team gives patients access to comprehensive healthcare closer to home and includes allied health professionals (e.g. nurse, diabetes educator and mental health professionals) and a care coordinator to support community awareness, ensure patient questions and needs are addressed and to help with making appointments and managing referrals.

The Hubs provide comprehensive and culturally safe primary healthcare services onsite, via phone and video and into residential aged care homes, urgent care centres and schools. The Hubs ensure timely preventative care, reduce patient travel and enable easier access to specialists. People with chronic and complex conditions can coordinate and access more of their healthcare needs closer to home.

The Hubs are creating learning and job opportunities by welcoming medical, nursing and allied health students and assisting other team members to gain additional skills and expertise. And so that it can be replicated in other rural areas, research and evaluation form an integral part of the trial.