MPHN hears about health concerns in Junee and surrounding communities

Seventeen Junee locals took the opportunity to share their health experiences and concerns at Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network’s (MPHN) Conversations on the Couch session at the Junee Railway Café on Thursday 27 May.

MPHN’s Planning and Reporting Manager Toni Preuss, who was in attendance on the day, said those that attended provided many valuable insights into the current health needs of the community.

“Some of the key concerns raised included transport issues when visiting health services in other towns, long wait times for public physiotherapists and a shortage of nursing staff at the local hospital. Another problem was the lack of a local newspaper, removing a vital source of information,” Ms Preuss said.

“We also heard many people express their appreciation for the local GPs and the visiting services to local general practices.

“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 Bland, Temora and Junee an opportunity to complete a survey, and we have received almost 150 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.