MPHN hears about health concerns in Harden and surrounding communities

A total of 14 people shared their health experiences and concerns last Thursday with Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network’s (MPHN) Conversations on the Couch session at DJ’s on Neil in Harden and during a meeting at the Men’s Shed.

MPHN’s Planning and Reporting Manager Toni Preuss was in attendance on the day and said several recurring themes came up as part of the conversations.

“High on the list of concerns for people living in Harden is the recent closure of the local private aged care facility, which is understandable given the ageing population in the community,” Ms Preuss said.

“Other key themes were around service accessibility, costs, transportation to specialist or other health appointments, and continuity of care with a general practitioner.

“I’d like to thank all those who made time in their day to speak with us on Thursday, especially those who travelled from Young. The information provided is invaluable to really understanding the health needs at a local level and guides MPHN’s development of the region’s Health Needs Assessment.”

Conversations on the Couch is an MPHN initiative to capture health needs and concerns of local communities across the Murrumbidgee region as part of its Health Needs Assessment.

MPHN Acting CEO Julie Redway said MPHN’s Health Needs Assessment is a three-yearly document to help identify opportunities for improving health outcomes.

“This year we are working to develop our 2022-2024 Health Needs Assessment for the Murrumbidgee region and this will guide our future activities by helping to identify gaps and needs in health and how MPHN can support these needs,” Ms Redway said.

“We use a range of information to inform our Health Needs Assessments including nationally available social and health data for our region.

“By seeking feedback from our communities through surveys and face to face opportunities like Conversations on the Couch we can hear and learn more about the specific health needs that may not be as evident in the raw data.

“There is still time available to provide your feedback through our two survey options – one is a short two-question mini survey, and the other community survey has 17 questions to answer about social, demographic and health information,” she said.

To complete a mini survey or a longer community survey visit www.mphn.org.au/hna and scroll down to the blue survey buttons.