Living with COVID - Commissioned Home Visits Program

⁠⁠⁠Primary Health Networks (PHNs) were established with the key objectives of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of medical services for patients, particularly those at risk of poor health outcomes, and improving coordination of care to ensure patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time.

The South Eastern Melbourne PHN catchment encompasses an area comprising 1.5 million people and stretches from St Kilda to Sorrento and as far east as Bunyip, including the major population hubs of Monash, Dandenong, Moorabbin, Caulfield, Cranbourne, Frankston and Pakenham.

From 1 July, 2016 PHNs adopted a commissioning approach to procuring medical and health care services which is based on an assessment of the health and wellbeing needs of the community. This work determines the priority areas and guides the scope of the commissioning process.

PHNs have received funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health to undertake procurement to engage clinical service providers, including but not limited to medical deputising services, nurse practitioners and practice nurses to undertake home visits to provide care to COVID-positive patients, where their GP does not have capacity or where a person does not have a managing GP. This includes coverage in of both day-time (9am to 5pm) and in the after-hours (5pm to 11.59pm).

This program will target COVID-positive patients living in Residential Aged Care who need to have a clinical assessment face-to-face. Referrals will come from Local Health Networks and General Practice Respiratory Clinics and will be sent to the GP service provider. The Service Provider will assess the patient and take over clinical care. All referrals will be for patients who are COVID-positive or have tested positive for COVID in the past 30 days.

This face-to-face service will also be available to vulnerable members of the community, focussing on those without Medicare and other supports.

These face-to-face visits will not just be for treatment of COVID but any treatment that a COVID-positive patient may need while they are isolating, for example a wound dressing, prescription, or pathology.

This Service will be set up rapidly to ease pressure on the Health System and will be ongoing until 30 June 2022.