IFIC Australia

The twin challenges of last summer’s bushfires, swiftly followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, have exposed critical bottlenecks and vulnerabilities in the Australian health system

First, what is integrated mental health care- it is a mental health care system that should encompass clear and seamless care pathways that match the intensity and type of care with the severity and complexity of the illness that people experience over time. For most people living with mental illness in Australia these care pathways are often difficult to find and often unaffordable.
Improving mental health care services has been a focus of the Bupa Health Foundation since its beginnings some 15 years ago.

Integrated care systems and communities provide greater resilience in adapting and coping with such urgent and complex problems. The COVID 19 pandemic may prove to be a catalyst in rethinking how health and care systems work in ways that better protect the vulnerable and are better prepared to cope with emerging systemic shocks.

In October 2018 researchers and service providers met in Orange NSW to consider the challenges in addressing consistently poor mental health outcomes in rural and remote Australian communities. They concluded that rural mental health services are not working, despite increases in government funding.

I am delighted to be writing this blog as the new Chair of IFIC Australia and, in so doing, to pay tribute to our outgoing Chair – Peter McGeorge – for his commitment and enthusiasm over the past 2 years

A core objective of IFIC Australia is to help support the effective implementation of integrated care in policy and practice. The IFIC Australia initiative reflects the growing focus at State and Federal level on person-centred integrated care as a means to promote better value in the way health and care services are delivered

We all know that personal development takes time. It is a lifelong experience that allows us to incorporate new skills and qualities so that we can better face current and future challenges.

On June 4th 2019, IFIC met with the steering committee of the Transnational Forum on Integrated Community Care (TransForm) in Brussels.

On the 17th April 2019, Nick Goodwin hosted a seminar at the University of Newcastle’s Sydney Campus to examine the international evidence and experience in coordination of care to older people with complex needs in the home environment.

With regret this is my last newsletter as Chair of IFIC Australia, as I stepped down from the role at our last Partners meeting in April.

Integrated care is a well-established concept amongst health policy makers and system leaders in Australia. However it is still considered by many to be a means of improving outcomes and experience of care for older adult populations. Children and young people are often left out of the conversation.

Integrated care is increasingly present in the priorities of Australia’s healthcare, from the work of our primary care services to the policy settings within government.

When IFIC Australia was founded in November 2015, one of its core objectives was to provide a platform through which to develop and exchange ideas to advance science and knowledge in Australia and on an international stage.

Hi all. The end of the year is approaching rapidly so it’s time to reflect on how IFICA has progressed over the course of past months and to take a peek at what’s planned for next year.

In the inspiring landscape of Orange, at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health of the University of Newcastle a group of integrated care enthusiasts gathered on Monday, 29 October, to start a week-long Accelerated Learning Course on “Designing and Implementing Integrated Care”.

On the 9th November, IFIC Australia hosted a symposium at NSW Parliament House examining international evidence and experience in the organisation, funding and evaluation of integrated care. Led by Dr Apostolos Tsiachristas (Oxford University), Dr Liz Schroeder (Macquarie University), and Dr Viktoria Stein (IFIC) the symposium explored trends and approaches in the organisation of care services to improve population health and sought to put the debate in the context of the Australian reality.

The International Foundation for Integrated Care has developed global reach in the last few years and now boasts a network of approximately 19,000 individuals and organisations across more than 50 countries worldwide. This growth has been particularly strong in the Asia-Pacific region where IFIC has been undertaking conferences

The Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy (MUCHE) is based in Sydney, Australia. It is a University led strategic initiative to undertake innovative research on health, ageing and human services.

Our CEO, Dr.Nick Goodwin, reflects on the prospects for the development of alliances in Australia following the Transformers 3 workshop programme held in Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour between 5th and 8th November 2018 in partnership with the Centre for Healthcare Knowledge and Innovation.

Economic evaluation for integrated care is a peculiar task, perhaps not unlike tunnelling through spaghetti in a black hole, or aptly described by Tsiachristas et al as ‘a stairway suspended somewhere between heaven and hell’

A number of families living in our community experience many barriers to accessing health and social care. The problems that these families face are highly complex, often spanning over generations, and cannot be addressed by one agency alone.

Greetings! The past quarter has been a time of steady progress in the development of IFIC Australia (IFICA). Following on from what was a highly successful IFIC conference in Utrecht in May, a teleconference meeting of the Partners was held in June while, expressions of interest from new partners are being followed up, IFICA Webinars commenced and planning for an Accelerated Learning Program during the week of Oct 29th this year has been advanced.

As I write, the Australian media has been focussing in depth on drought in Australia for two weeks. It is as if those in metropolitan Australia have suddenly realised that rural farmers and communities are experiencing hardship and are at risk of psychological distress and mental illness.

Nine international faculty members, 23 participants from 16 countries, 16 World Cup matches and five days of glorious summer sunshine in Oxford. This was the recipe for the 2018 International Summer School on Integrated Care held at Wolfson College, Oxford, UK in June 2018.