Licence for an Enhanced Primary Mental Health Service to Operate from the Byford Health Hub for the Armadale Kalamunda Group

⁠⁠⁠Licence for an Enhanced Primary Mental Health Service to Operate from the Byford Health Hub for the Armadale Kalamunda Group - Request No EMHS042024 

What is the opportunity? 

The Licensor (East Metropolitan Health Service) is seeking to establish a Licence Agreement with a suitably qualified non-WA Health Service provider for the provision of an Enhanced Primary Mental Health Service (EPMH) to operate at the future Byford Health Hub (BHH or ?the Hub?), anticipated opening late 2026.

The Licensor East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) reserves the right to select a preferred provider with the intent to offer a licence to operate at or out of the BHH for the provision of an EPMH Service for the BHH.

This licence is for the provision of an EPMH service at BHH and is a unique opportunity for a non-WA Health service provider to engage with EMHS to develop a place-based service model that meets community needs within Byford and the surrounding area. The EPMH service should address the mental health needs of the local Byford community for people that require short-term support and facilitated navigation to services as required. More information on the anticipated service can be found in Section 1.1.5.

EMHS acknowledges that the request for licence of an EPMH service is sought with considerable lead time to the proposed opening of the BHH and is pursuing this process to ensure the success of the selected provider and to offer adequate lead time to develop a truly placed-based service.

The proposed timeline for this licence process for an EPMH service at the future BHH is expected as follows:

1. Request Phase: Request on Tenders WA, May - June 2024
2. Selection Phase: Selection of Preferred Provider and letter for offer of licence to the successful service provider, June - July 2024
3. Agreement Formation Phase: Key negotiation phase to confirm the specificity of the licence and key terms, August - December 2024
4. Formal Licensing Phase: Formalisation of offer and progression to formal licence and terms, 2025

Background and context on the Byford Health Hub (BHH)

The Licensor (EMHS) is designing and delivering a new Health Hub in Byford, Western Australia, to serve the growing community across the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale (SSJ). This is to respond to mounting health service demand issues and is aligned to the vision of EMHS Healthy people, amazing care (Koorda moort, moorditj kwabadak).

The SSJ local government area, covering the suburb of Byford, is home to the fastest growing population in Western Australia (WA) with expectations to continually rise at a rate much greater than the State average. This steady population growth has placed an increased demand on local health and social care services, which are proportionally lower in availability in Byford compared to the relative population and expected growth.

In May 2023, Treasury approved the capital Business Case request for the BHH building, currently planned to open mid-2026 ($42.2M total project costs inclusive of $5.9M of forward works). The Hub aims to deliver a place-based model of health and social care tailored to the needs of the SSJ. The BHH concept envisions a new approach to healthcare where both WA Health and non-WA Health providers operate within an Integrated Service Delivery Model (Appendix 1 & 2) to provide streamlined access and early intervention care that is informed by community need.

Founded on integrating partnerships across sectors, the BHH aims to lead the way for how WA can deliver care in the future through a community-based model to avoid the burden on patients (travel, costs, psycho-social and emotional stress) and Armadale Health Service (AHS) Emergency Department (ED) capacity (the closest site for secondary care). The concept design of the Hub to date has been informed by various stakeholder inputs, including engagements with subject matter experts, multi-stakeholder workshops with community members, a health, and social needs assessment (Appendix 3), and review of community benefits. The Hub will be underpinned by a multi-sourcing model to strike an optimum blend of WA Health and non-WA Health and social services in accordance with community needs.

The Hub will provide the community with services located locally, who will work in an integrated way across primary, community and specialist care. Refer to Appendix 4. Potential Health & Social Services at the BHH for a list of potential services.

The objectives of the Hub are to:

1. Provide accessible and high-quality care to a rapidly expanding community which evolves over time to support current and emerging health and social needs.
2. Deliver healthcare differently, focusing on building healthy communities and holistic wellbeing that prevents serious illness and chronic disease.
3. Establish agreements with a selection of collaborative health and social service providers to ensure a seamless, connected, and positive experience for consumers and the local workforce.
4. Demonstrate sustainable and long-term service provision from both a financial and environmental perspective.

The Hub is expected to become operational as a community health service facility mid-2026 and will be operationally supported through EMHS. The proposed location of the Hub is lot 103 Bushman Glade, Byford (within the Shire Civic Reserve) and is intended to be situated in close proximity to the main shopping complex and adjacent to the future Byford METRONET train station and Byford Bus depot.

Proposed Enhanced Primary Mental Health service at the BHH - What the EPMH service provider will bring to the Hub:

• A service that is fit to meet the growing need of primary mental health in SSJ.
• A commitment to deliver the EPMH services in alignment with the Hub Integrated Service Delivery Model (It is noted that a future charter or Deed of Covenant will be developed by EMHS to confirm the commitment of each service provider, this will be finalised closer to BHH opening in 2026).
• The capability and resources to deliver the EPMH services within the Hub, noting that the proposed model does not include the purchase/payment of health and social services by the Licensor.
• The intention to provide services that are financially accessible to the consumer with the goal being low cost or no cost.

The proposed EPMH services that EMHS is seeking is based on the needs of the SSJ and the proposed model is a guide to interested service providers to develop a suitable model of service. The final model and service will be provided by the selected preferred provider and can work collaboratively with EMHS to streamline consumer care. If relevant, it is an option for the service provider to engage in a collaborative to service the community.  

[1] National Health Survey: First results, 2017-18? 2020.

[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics, 'Regional population by age and sex', 2020 Profile ID (2021), Western Australia. (Available from: https://forecast.id.com.au/australia/about-forecast-areas?WebID=140)

All Enquiries:

Name: Samantha Bradder

Title: Coordinator Planning Innovation and Commissioning

Telephone: (08) 9224 8782

E-mail: byford.healthhubprogram@health.wa.gov.au