Essential care - how community health organisations help ease the pressure on Victoria's public health system

In 2023–24 around 546,000 people in Victoria could have avoided visiting a hospital emergency department if their health was managed by primary care or the community health sector.

For vulnerable Victorians with complex health needs, community health organisations provide a single entry-point into the broader healthcare and social support system. They help keep people healthy, socially connected and out of hospital for longer.

The research report Investing in community health infrastructure finds that with the right planning and a small increase in infrastructure funding, community health organisations can help keep the most vulnerable Victorians healthy and ease demand on our hospitals and emergency departments.

Join our panellists as they discuss the role and benefits of community health organisations on the wider health system and the impacts of infrastructure on service delivery.

The panel

• Dr Jonathan Spear, CEO, Infrastructure Victoria
• Llewellyn Reynders, Director Research and Policy, Infrastructure Victoria
• Anna Robinson, CEO, Access Health and Community
• Leigh Clarke, CEO, Victorian Healthcare Association