My Region - Goldfields

In this month’s Better health, together video, WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington is joined by Sustainable Health Review Chair, Robyn Kruk to talk about the WA Department of Health’s recently released Sustainable Health Review Final Report.

During its development, WA Primary Health Alliance has played a key role in representing the voice of the primary care sector and will continue to do so as part of a newly agreed strategic partnership with the Department of Health, WA.

The partnership is intended to enable the joint planning, priority setting and funding of coordinated care, giving priority to the delivery... Continue reading

In this month’s Better health, together video, WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington chats with Principal Advisor and Research Director, Dr Danny Rock about depression and our recent campaign to bring about awareness of this common mental health condition.

WA Primary Health Alliance have launched an important campaign, Depression looks different for everybody, which aims to raise awareness of depression, encourage people to talk about their feelings and urge them to seek help.The campaign captures personal stories of depression as mini documentaries and in artworks to help people recognise the symptoms of this mental health condition that impacts about... Continue reading

In this month’s Better health, together video, WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington sits down with Suicide Prevention Manager, Sharleen Delane to talk about our work in WA’s three Suicide Prevention Trial Sites, as well as the important role of community in suicide prevention.

WA Primary Health Alliance is leading three Suicide Prevention Trials in Western Australia, located in the Kimberley, the Midwest and the Peel, Rockingham and Kwinana regions.

Learn more about our suicide prevention initiatives and watch the video here.

For past videos, head to the Better health, together page.

What is Grow Local?

Grow Local was developed by WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) in 2017 in response to difficulties in recruiting and retaining culturally appropriate mental health workers to support Aboriginal people.

It was identified as a need during the filming of Bus of Hope, a documentary that followed a group of people from Leonora as they embarked on a journey to Alice Springs, sharing their personal stories of how suicide has impacted their lives and their tight-knit community.

It is a specially designed Certificate IV in Mental Health whose objectives are to:

- Train local people who... Continue reading

To end the year, WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington is joined by Board Chair, Dr Richard Choong to reflect on the journey so far, our impact on the primary care sector and what success will look like in five years from now.

WA Primary Health Alliance is making an impact on the fabric of the healthcare environment through our role in creating the right conditions to ensure the best possible health outcomes for all Western Australians, particularly for those who fall through the gaps.

Bridging the divide between what are in effect the two different health systems and... Continue reading

This month, WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington chats to LGBTI advocate and WA Primary Health Alliance Community Advisory Council member, Misty Farquhar about the role the primary care sector has to play in ensuring LGBTI people can access safe, inclusive and culturally appropriate health services.

WA Primary Health Alliance has an important leadership role in advocating for safe, inclusive and culturally appropriate services for LGBTI people, a disproportionate number of whom experience poorer mental health outcomes, have higher risk of suicidal behaviours than their peers and experience discrimination, harassment and hostility in many parts of everyday life, including... Continue reading

Held on 15th and 16th December was Esperance Edge of the Bay. This action packed two day event was for all aged and also commemorated the official opening of the Esperance Skate Park built on the edge of the Esperance Bay. This annual event has become highly anticipated by the local community and attracts interest from visitors to the region.

Community groups were invited to attend to share their passion by promoting wellness behaviours. Other activities included: markets stall holders, food stalls, live music , free activities and giveaway as well as skate boarding competition and demonstration by skate professionals.

... Continue reading

This month, WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington sits down with Minister for Health, Roger Cook MLA to talk about the impact of obesity on Western Australians and our health system.

WA Primary Health Alliance is part of the WA Government’s Obesity Collaborative Steering Group which is tasked with developing a WA Obesity Strategy.

This strategy has stemmed from the inaugural WA Preventive Health Summit, held earlier this year. The one-day summit discussed the importance of prevention and encouraged broader thinking and community engagement around what we can do to encourage healthy lifestyles to reduce and prevent obesity and... Continue reading

During Mental Health Week, WA Primary Health Alliance in collaboration with Rural Clinical School of WA, Rural Health West and the WA Country Health Service, Goldfields Mental Health Service organized GP dinners in Esperance on the 10th October and in Kalgoorlie on the 11th October focusing on the GP Mental Health. The theme for this year was “Mental Health starts where we live, learn, work and play” This was a good opportunity to remind all health professionals to stop and think about their own mental health. In Esperance they were joined by Professor Geoff Riley and Dr Damien Zilm and... Continue reading

Over thirty community members, health professionals, tradespeople, miners and pastors from Kalgoorlie and Leonora have just graduated with a Grow Local Certificate IV in Mental Health, equipping them to provide much needed mental health support to their communities.

Grow Local is an initiative developed by WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) in 2017 in response to the difficulties faced in recruiting and retaining culturally appropriate mental health workers to assist and support Aboriginal people.

(Image Above: The Grow Local Goldfields graduates celebrating the completion of their Cert IV Mental Health in Kalgoorlie.)

It was also identified as a need during the... Continue reading