Delivering more out of hospital services, capitalising on digital health opportunities, focussing on population changes and reducing pressures on the health system are key priorities of the South AustralianHealth and Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2025, launched today.
Department for Health and Wellbeing Chief Executive, Dr Chris McGowan, said goals include improving community trust and experience of the health system, and increasing the capacity of individuals and communities in managing their health and wellbeing.
“This Strategy signifies a new direction for the South Australian health system, guiding how we align and balance our immediate priorities while positioning ourselves for future challenges,” Dr McGowan said.
“To achieve our goal of keeping people healthy and refocussing on prevention and early intervention initiatives, we must expand our capacity to support out-of-hospital services in the community and strengthen existing partnerships with external service providers.
“Importantly, we know growth in population will impact health care needs, but focussed strategies on both the first and last 1,000 days of life, including the development of a specific Women’s, Child and Youth Health Plan for SA, will significantly improve positive health outcomes.
“Digital health, data, and technology will also be crucial to changing the way people participate with their health care, and we have an opportunity to lead the way in data utilisation to drive clinical decisions and new technologies to improve our processes.”
The Strategy also focusses on reducing potentially avoidable or preventable conditions, and factors including domestic violence and climate change have been taken into account in public health planning.
“Domestic abuse is the most significant health risk to Australian women aged 15-44 years, and violence results in the admission of eight women and two men to Australian hospitals each day,” Dr McGowan said.
“For the first time, we will focus on developing solutions to reduce the incidence of domestic violence and resulting health and wellbeing issues for affected adults and children.
“We will look to implement strategies to raise staff awareness of domestic abuse across all services, as a vital step towards early identification and intervention will prevent further abuse, harm and death.”
The South Australian Health and WellbeingStrategy 2020-2025 reinvigorates the drive towards innovation and excellence in pursuit of a vision of the best health for all South Australians.
The Strategy can be found at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au.
