Get involved
Will you join us to put Community Health First?
To create lasting change, we need motivated Victorians to step up and join the campaign to put Community Health First.
You can sign up to receive important email updates and information regarding the actions you can take to support community health in Victoria. Sign up via the button below.
We are also asking for you to show your support by sending a letter to Members of Parliament. By completing the 'Send a letter to Members of Parliament' form, you will be reaching some of the key Victorian decision-makers, including Ministers and Members of Parliament, to notify them of your support for the campaign.
By completing the 'Send a letter to Members of Parliament' form, you are also signing up to receive email updates.
Thank you for supporting the campaign to put Community Health First.
Letter to Members of Parliament
Dear Member of Parliament,
I write to you to add my support to the campaign to put Community Health First in Victoria.
Our 24 registered independent community health services across metropolitan, rural and regional Victoria have been providing vital health promotion, allied health, general practice and clinical primary healthcare services to Victorians for 50 years now. The adaptive, responsive nature of services and significant clinical capabilities of community health services, paired with their community connections and stewardship reinforce community health services as the trusted providers for and experts on community-based care.
As you know, our health system is experiencing sustained demand like never before. Over the last few years, community health services have enjoyed working closely with the Victorian Government to keep Victorians safe and healthy against the backdrop of the pandemic, bushfires and floods.
However, we know that more can be done to ensure Victorians have access to world-class healthcare when and where they need it. We know that for many Victorians presenting to our already stretched hospitals, earlier contact with primary care would reduce their contact with the tertiary health system as well as alleviate downstream economic impacts through prevention of chronic illness and complex health issues.
Community Health First brings together all 24 registered independent community health services from across metropolitan, rural and regional Victoria to provide a solution to the sustained demand currently being experienced by our healthcare system, utilising the expert knowledge of our community health services.
I join the Community Health First campaign in calling on the Victorian Government to:
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Increase base funding to registered Community Health services by at least 20% to meet population growth over the past decade and help ensure ongoing delivery of critical services and health promotion work, with a commitment to annual indexation of funding aligned to inflation;
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Cement registered Community Health services as the partner of choice and for the State Government for any community-based health initiatives;
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Immediately prioritise fair and sustainable investment in Community Health infrastructure and workforce development, including identification of critical areas of need and inclusion in system-wide forward planning; and
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Work with the Federal Government to recognise registered Community Health services in the National Health Agreement, so that State Government funding for Community Health is matched by Federal investment as it is for hospital funding.
By taking these measures, you will be strengthening the ability of community health services to engage with more Victorians before health issues worsen and flow on into the tertiary healthcare system. With a strengthened community health system, our services can continue to work in partnership with the Victorian Government to keep Victorians healthy and supported for another 50 years.
But without adequate investment Community Health services will be unable to keep delivering world- class care that responds to the needs of communities across the state and keeps Victorians safe, healthy, and out of emergency department waiting rooms.
We urge you to support the campaign to put Community Health First.
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