Creating opportunities for better care and improved job satisfaction

Pictured: Nurse Peta Cross at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service in St Albans.

The obverse of reducing burnout, is increasing provider opportunities. NWMPHN is committed to this through a range of strategies.

By overseeing the roll-out of new services such as general practice respiratory clinics and priority primary care centres, the organisation has enabled GPs and practice owners to expand their businesses and service footprints, with accompanying additional employment demand for doctors, nurses, and practice managers. 



We have also played a key role in coordinating, disseminating and distributing additional funds for general practices and other providers in the form of federal and state grants. 

From another perspective, an essential strategy for reducing the operational stress reported by GPs and others lies in increasing efficiency and confidence. 

To this end, NWMPHN has designed a wide range of quality improvement opportunities – low cost and easily adaptable practice-level projects by which the ability to (variously) detect, identify, recall, screen, test and treat conditions in adults and children is improved. 

Our HealthPathways Melbourne platform has become an essential resource for doctors needing to check and doublecheck treatment processes for over 800 conditions. Content on this platform undergoes continual updating, revision and clinical editing, ensuring it always reflects the most up-to-date evidence-informed information. 

Other projects aim to build confidence among primary health care providers by reforming and reframing sometimes complex and challenging matters. 

These range from the diagnosis of mental health conditions in children to organising after hours emergency care for residents in aged care homes. Feedback consistently indicates that improved provider confidence correlates with decreased provider stress.