Country SA PHN Annual Report 19/20 1 Annual Report 19 / 20 Contents Chair of the Board Report 2 Chief Executive Officer Report 3 Chair of Finance Report 6 Regional Health Priorities Statistics 8 Our Priority Areas 17 Reconciliation Action Plan 32 Local Health Clusters 36 2 Country SA PHN Annual Report 19/20 Chair of the Board Report The 2019-20 year has been anything Additional funding was also provided but routine, but the Country SA PHN to enable the establishment of (CSAPHN) has stepped up to the plate specific Respiratory Clinics and and been a strong voice for the role enhanced Respiratory focus in smaller of primary health care at the forefront clinics across our patch. Our senior of bushfire recovery and pandemics. staff are to be congratulated on our positioning in this arena with a much The Board took pause last year and stronger presence than seen in undertook an external review to see other states. what areas of good governance required more attention and has As well as the specific challenges made some changes to internal and thrown at us in the past year, CSAPHN Board processes in response to this. has continued with business as usual We expected to swing into 2020 in commissioning, monitoring and “As well as the with a new found vigour only to reviewing the range of services we specific challenges be pushed back by the devastation commission across all of rural SA. It of the bushfires across our regions is a credit to all our staff and service thrown at us in the hotly followed by the need to modify providers that we have managed to past year, CSAPHN our business processes due to the maintain this despite the difficulties precautions put in place around presented. has continued with COVID-19. The organisation and the Thanks to our CEO Kim Hosking, Board have managed with a modified business as usual COO Mark Hartigan and all the meeting schedule with more in commissioning, CSAPHN staff for another teleconferences and video-meetings. monitoring and successful year. The PHNs were involved in providing reviewing the range immediate and longer term support of services we on the ground after the bushfires in commission across affected areas with some additional funding in this area. Dr Alison Edwards all of rural SA.” The SA COVID response built on Chair of the Board good relationships already in place between both of the SA PHNs and SA Health enabling us to be involved in the state-wide COVID response in the Command Centre and working with those in that space to ensure SA primary health was always in the mix with responses, information, testing etc. Country SA PHN Annual Report 19/20 3 Chief Executive Officer Report It is clear that this past year has the first week of January, we were been an unprecedented challenge required to respond to the bushfire for Country SA PHN (CSAPHN). It emergencies in the Adelaide Hills, has been an unprecedented year of Kangaroo Island and the Upper challenge for all businesses and the South East. While we have been community, our partners, providers accustomed to a bushfire response of service and stakeholders. The in the summer of a number of the elephant that has blundered into and preceding years, the span of the consumed the ‘room’ has of course activity this year was greater. The been the advent of the COVID-19 Commonwealth directed funds and crisis. This crisis has dictated our required activities and principally activities this past year and will our mental health team, responded continue to do same throughout to planning and commissioning “As well as the the next period and almost certainly needs within barely a week to a beyond. The COVID-19 emergence fortnight time frame, recruiting specific challenges has created a public health event, a community project officer and thrown at us in the unparalleled in recent times, which directing funds to providers. Mental will impact public health and Health services were expanded into past year, CSAPHN community thinking for a generation. increased activities in each region and has continued with CSAPHN has responded to the crisis community forums led to grant funds throughout, aiming to be an exemplar being made available for community business as usual of good community practice and with support and resilience. in commissioning, the needs of our community at the As this activity played out it was front of our minds. monitoring and clear that a significant public health reviewing the range Our year commenced with event was approaching and ahead continuation and in some of the perceived demand and using of services we applications, the expansion of knowledge gained over time, we commission across activities in common with preceding began positioning ourselves for years. Our focus being to improve a response, the style and scope all of rural SA.” upon services commissioned for of which we had no real way of mental health and general health determining. activities and other activities aligned In March with the declarations of to our mission for improving system national and state emergencies and integration and coordination, as following an invitation to join with well as General Practice and other SA Health in their response to the provider support. Our 2019-2020 potential and early realities of the reporting and 2020-2021 annual COVID-19 crisis, the CSAPHN split planning deliverables were achieved, its organisation into two functional and the Christmas break taken. platforms; a COVID-19 response However immediately upon the and a Maintenance of planned commencement of the year, in activities team. 4 Country SA PHN Annual Report 19/20 Chief Executive Officer Report The COVID-19 response part of the with the Board approved delegation It is not uncommon at this time, for organisation progressed activities of a CEO, undertook activities to comments to be made about staff to commission six Commonwealth support our Commissioned service of organisations not being at work funded Respiratory Clinics across providers in the emerging demands and now returning to work. This regional SA as well as fifteen nurse and changing needs and in managing is an unfortunate and unrealistic led activities in smaller and more their own challenges, as organisations appreciation of the realities of isolated communities, expanding the operating in a time of crisis. They this past year. It is also the case capacity of practices to support local supported increased demand for that comment is made reflecting need should they arise, and in some telehealth and remote service unrealistically, that employees areas, they did. General Practice was provision based on technology. All of the public sector and entities supported to respond and hundreds of the normal activities of the PHN such as the PHN associated with of thousands of items of personal continued, albeit with a reduced same had this past year easy. I am protective equipment were distributed workforce and increased demand uncertain as from where these to general practice and then wider to provide support and assistance. perceptions arise. The perceptions into allied health. The activities Throughout this period, the needs are not the realities of our staff, nor expanded into support to aged care of the Bushfire response were not the service providers with which we and flu activities were enhanced for forgotten, and our team continued to work. As an organisation we can be same. Staff were engaged in the State support the impacted communities. immensely proud of our workforce. Health Command Centre and were All of the necessary, planned and Our people responded to demand. leaders in initial community response scheduled activities were met and They shifted off site albeit that this activities. We engaged with SA Health delivered. was a challenge. Not all people in planning and command activities have dedicated studies or offices at Our staff, in common with the great including practical field response. home. Many live within limited space. bulk of the Australian workforce Regular community communications Many had to share family space with moved their work off site in March were progressed daily then as time children being home schooled by and work has progressed, consistent progressed weekly according to that worker, or shared space with with Commonwealth and State changing needs. We worked hand a partner also working from home. direction and advice. We were in hand with the Adelaide PHN Some had partners who lost their well positioned to shift off site in as the only State jurisdiction in jobs creating pressure within the terms of the safety and flexibility of Australia directly engaged in the State home environment. Yet we increased our systems and the capacity and Command and Control activities and our work product. We expanded capabilities of our information and both organisations supported each our capacity, and some officers of technology and finance teams. At other and presented to the state a the organisation managed their the end of the period our workforce seamless and consistent support normal role while adding new and remained off site, consistent with to SA Health and our communities, competing activities. Our productivity advice and direction and at time of adapted to varying demands and expanded. Some of our staff were this report we continue to work within needs. required to or volunteered to support that advice, with reduced numbers the distribution of the hundreds of While that team focussed on the of staff on site and expanded use of thousands of PPE to communities. emergency, the Maintenance Team telecommunications for engagement led by the Chief Operating Officer, and networking. Country SA PHN Annual Report 19/20 5 They unpacked bulk supplies and logical public health policy, planning repackaged the content into smaller and preparedness will be overtaken packaging for further distribution.