Service Coordination



Goulburn Valley Primary Care Partnership

Service Coordination is a statewide vision to align practices, processes, protocols and systems through functional integration. Achieving functional integration enables agencies to remain independent of each other as entities and still work in a cohesive and coordinated way so that consumers experience a seamless and integrated response.

The objective of Service coordination is to enhance wellbeing and quality of life, reduced prevalence, incidence and burden of illness/disability, the needs of hard to reach and vulnerable groups are met, and health inequalities between population groups are reduced. Indicators of this are:

  • Consumers and carers experience improved identification of their needs as early as possible
  • Consumers and carers have timely access to the most appropriate services
  • Consumers and carers experience coordinated delivery of services and a continuum of care
  • Consumers and carers have confidence in the advice, support, treatment, and care coordination they are receiving
  • Consumers and carers receive care and support that is appropriate to their cultural background, circumstances, needs and preferences
  • Consumers and carers actively participate in the development of their own care plans and in the delivery of their care.
  • Consumers and carers have confidence in the way their health and care information is collected and shared


Victorian Service Coordination Practice Manual
The Victorian Service Coordination Practice Manual replaces the LH & GVPCP Service Coordination PPPS Manuals.
The purpose of the Service Coordination practice manual 2009 is to:

1. Define practices, processes, protocols and systems which support Service Coordination across Victoria, in particular to:

  • Articulate Victoria’s Service Coordination vision and practice standards
  • Document clear expectations for agencies and practitioners
  • Provide information on systems and other supports available to agencies involved in Service Coordination
  • Guide the implementation of Service Coordination at an agency level
  • Provide a resource for managers and practitioners involved in Service Coordination.

2. Provide the basis for monitoring and continuous improvement of Service Coordination across Victoria, enabling individual agencies and Primary Care Partnerships (PCPs) to:

  • Compare existing practice against statewide practice standards
  • Ensure Service Coordination is conducted in accordance with the statewide vision and practice, and the Department of Human Services (DSH) Better Access to Services: A Policy and Operational Framework.

In addition, two key resources have been developed to complement this manual, they are:


They can be downloaded from http://www.health.vic.gov.au/pcps/publications/sc_pracmanual.htm

Victoria’s Service Coordination vision is detailed in the Department of Human Services
Better Access to Services: A Policy and Operational Framework (BATS)

 

Better Access to Services (BATS)
Through its Better Access to Services Strategy, Goulburn Valley Primary Care Partnership has sought to achieve the following outcomes:-

  • A better and more comprehensive understanding of our community and its experiences in accessing primary care services in order to inform quality improvement and service system development.  
  • Improved communication between consumers, primary care providers and other key stakeholders to enhance continuity of care and improved transition of care and care information between providers.
  • Development of a process to streamline entry to and navigation of the service system to ensure access to the right service, in the right place, at the right time.
  • Active involvement of member agencies in the development and adoption of agreed practice, policies, protocols and systems to support better access