SEMPHN is seeking organisations to deliver an Accessible Psychological Interventions (API) service in one or more Local Government Areas (LGAs) within our catchment:

• Frankston
• Kingston
• Greater Dandenong
• Mornington Peninsula
• Casey
• Cardinia
• Port Philip
• Stonnington
• Bayside
• Glen Eira.

Accessible Psychological Interventions (API) are flexible services for consumers with a mental illness who will benefit from individual, family and/or group psychological services from allied health professionals.

The range of interventions is in line with those available under the Commonwealth Better Access to Mental Health Care program. API will be available for population groups that are harder to reach or underserviced, and cannot currently afford/access private psychological services.

API will replace Access To Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) later this year.

API are part of our Mental Health Stepped Care Model and are in line with Australia-wide changes in mental health services.

Key Dates

2 May	Tenders Open
11 May	Information session (register below)
19 May	Closing date for questions in Tenderlink
9 June	Tenders close 3pm
1 October	API commences
1 October to 31 December	Parallel services (ATAPS and API) operate
30 September	New referrals into ATAPS stop
31 December	ATAPS ends

More information 

An information session about the tender will be held 8.30am-1pm on 11 May in Keysborough. Register here. The session will be recorded and available to view on the SEMPHN website after the session.

Register your interest and apply for these tenders on SEMPHN's Tenderlink page. A separate submission is required for each LGA.

Please note, all questions about the tenders must be asked via the online forum on SEMPHN’s Tenderlink page.

Priority population groups with complex and chronic conditions in the South Eastern Melbourne PHN region will benefit from eight health care providers who have received funding to deliver health initiatives. The successful applicants are:

• The First Step Program in St Kilda
• Mackie Road Clinic in East Bentleigh
• Connect Health and Community (formally Bentleigh Bayside Community Health)
• Dandenong West Medical Centre in Dandenong
• The Hastings Clinic in Hastings
• High Street Medical Centre in Cranbourne
• Stud Road Medical Centre in Dandenong
• Chelsea Heights Medical Centre in Chelsea Heights

Each provider will deliver the following initiatives to at least 100 patients between June 2017 and June 2018:

• improve access for at-risk population groups to primary care services for the management of their complex and chronic conditions
• improve health outcomes for patients with poorly managed chronic conditions
• reduce the rate of Potentially Preventable Hospitalisations (PPH)  for chronic conditions in the SEMPHN region and
• increase the efficacy of care coordination strategies to better manage chronic and complex conditions, and improve quality of life.

An open tender process was used for the commissioning of the services.

For more information visit here.

SEMPHN has awarded Peninsula Health, Monash Health and Alfred Health combined funding of around $600,000 to improve links to primary health care in the South Eastern Melbourne catchment.

The initiatives, based at their Community Health Centres, will aim to prevent patients’ acute and/or chronic conditions from worsening and potentially avoid hospital admissions or emergency department presentations – especially after hours.

Better connections with appropriate primary care services will benefit a wide range of providers and patients, including hospital staff, Diabetes Nurse Educators, patients with chronic conditions like Type 2 Diabetes and residents of aged care facilities. 

A closed tender process was used for the commissioning of the services.

Learn more about the successful projects here.

Grants closed last week for multiple grants up to the value of $100,000 (GST exclusive) to general practices in the SEMPHN region.

The aim is to support general practice to build their capacity to manage patients with chronic and complex conditions to achieve one of the key PHN national priorities - reducing Potentially Preventable Hospitalisations (PPH).

There was a good response to the tenders, with around 50 people attending the information session on 12 April.

Successful applicants will be divided into two groups commencing on either 1 June or 1 August. Applicants will be notified of group allocation when the tender outcome is announced in late May.