MPHN hears about health concerns in Hanwood and surrounding communities

Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) held the second Conversations on the Couch session for 2021 at the Hanwood Village Store on Thursday 30 April, where a total of twelve people took the opportunity to share their health experiences and concerns.

MPHN’s Planning and Reporting Manager Toni Preuss, who was in attendance on the day, said the Conversations on the Couch session plays an important role in empowering communities to provide feedback on health issues.

“Some of the key issues raised included concerns around mental health and suicide rates, the lack of a local fracture clinic and patient transport problems. Another common problem was difficulty getting into a GP,” Ms Preuss said.

“We also heard people have found great benefit and value in the use of telehealth services particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was also many who expressed appreciation for the GPs who have lived and worked in the community for many years.”

“I’d like to thank all the community members who provided feedback on Thursday. The information provided is invaluable to guiding MPHN’s understanding of community concerns and experiences and the 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 the organisation’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.

“One of the most important ways in which we measure if we have the right services in the right places at the right time is by asking people of the Murrumbidgee to give us feedback about what they need.

“In addition to Conversations on the Couch, we also provided community members in the Local Government Areas of Griffith, Hay and Carrathool an opportunity to complete a survey, and we have received more than 200 responses, and I would like to thank all those who completed this survey.

“We won’t be reviewing all the data until later in the year, but we’re confident it will provide us with some rich data to help get a better picture of what is happening in health at the local level and inform our next Health Needs Assessment for the region,” she said.

To provide feedback via a survey visit www.mphn.org.au/hna and scroll down to the blue survey buttons.