What is WA Health’s strategic intent?
Vision
To deliver a safe, high quality, sustainable health system for all Western Australians.
Values
WA Health’s Code of Conduct identifies the values that we hold as fundamental in our work and describes how these values translate into action.
Our values are:
- Quality Care
- Respect
- Excellence
- Integrity
- Teamwork
- Leadership
Priorities
Our strategic priorities are focused on a continuum of care to support and guide health care through integrated service delivery from prevention and health promotion, early intervention, primary care through to diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation.
Ensuring people in Western Australia receive safe, high quality and accessible health services underpins our strategic priorities. This includes delivering health services that are patient centred, based on evidence and within a culture of continuous improvement.
1. Prevention and Community Care Services
- Support the Western Australian community to become healthier. Focus on promoting healthy habits and behaviours. Support people to make healthy lifestyle choices for mind and body.
- Work with primary health providers and carers to provide integrated and more accessible services to reduce the occurrence of acute illness and improve patient outcomes.
2. Health Services
- Provide more effective and efficient hospital services through:
- Improving clinical and non-clinical processes across health services, and
- Implementing and reporting on common efficiency and benchmarking standards.
- Reduce demand on traditional hospital services through:
- Increasing non-hospital ambulatory care services; and
- Preventing patient readmissions to hospital through improved care coordination.
3. Chronic Disease Services
- Increase awareness of chronic disease and long-term conditions of mind and body.
- Improve early detection and intervention of chronic diseases.
- Reduce the number of people living with chronic disease by supporting healthier lifestyles.
4. Aboriginal Health Services
- Strengthen and embed the approach to improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people living in Western Australia.
- Increase Aboriginal consumer, carer and community involvement to enhance access to and delivery of culturally appropriate health services.
- Create and develop strategic partnerships to improve the development and management of health services for Aboriginal people.
Enablers
1. Workforce
WA Health values and acknowledges the importance of its workforce. We aim to establish a vibrant and positive workplace, a respectful and rewarding culture, and invest in opportunities for professional development and leadership. WA Health will:
- Strive to be employer of choice with greater attraction, induction and retention strategies.
- Improve workforce plans and strategies to appropriately manage workforce across the system and into the future.
- Provide more opportunities for professional development through teaching and training to achieve a more engaged, skilled and satisfied workforce.
2. Accountability
WA Health recognises its duty to implement and maintain transparency in clinical and corporate governance, robust risk management and effective performance management. WA Health will:
- Improve organisational structures, governance and accountabilities so that there are clear roles and responsibilities to guide and support clinicians, managers and all staff to fulfil their roles to the best of their ability and in the best interest of their clients/patients.
- Improve procurement to drive value for money so that more resources can be directed to the delivery of high quality health services.
- Drive enhanced clinical and financial performance through transparent and proactive performance management arrangements.
3. Financial Management
WA Health is committed to managing resources effectively and efficiently by delivering services within allocated budgets, ensuring value for money and achieving financial sustainability. WA Health will:
- Strengthen financial management and procurement intelligence so that resources can be allocated fairly, used efficiently based on best value for money, and funding requirements for the health system are sustainable into the future.
- Provide clear and strong internal governance and efficiency of the budget and resource allocation processes and the annual budget cycle.
- Continue implementation of Activity Based Funding and Activity Based Management at all levels of WA Health with further alignment of performance management to Activity Based Management and a robust incentives framework.
4. Partnerships
WA Health aims to work cooperatively internally across the system as well as with other State and Commonwealth agencies, non-government and private sectors, educational stakeholders and community representatives to influence positive health outcomes for Western Australians. WA Health will:
- Encourage competition and contestability with the establishment of public private partnerships for the provision of health services.
- Work with external stakeholders to increase and enhance community-focussed programs that protect and promote health and wellbeing.
- Optimise the public/private ownership mix by working with a range of providers and ensuring the appropriate scale and size of facilities for both current and future needs, with considerations to ensure improved access, quality and safety of health services.
5. Infrastructure
WA Health is managing an unprecedented health infrastructure and investment program to upgrade and redevelop Western Australia’s hospitals and health services to ensure better access to safe and quality healthcare delivered in world-class health facilities well into the future. WA Health will:
- Embed existing infrastructure through delivery of key metropolitan projects and continued transformation of health services in regional WA.
- Continue to provide governance over hospital commissioning, service reconfiguration and planning and transition activities to ensure the delivery of safe, high quality care.
6. ICT
The WA Health ICT Strategy 2015-2018 “Building a Strong Foundation” outlines a decision-making framework for ICT across WA Health and sets out the key ICT priorities for the next three years.
The Strategy aims to continuously improve patient safety and quality of care through effective delivery of Information and Communications Technology and prioritises effort across five areas. WA Health will:
- Stabilise our existing infrastructure and systems and complete the implementation of systems at new hospitals.
- Improve information management and sharing to better support patient safety, quality of care and care coordination.
- Embed effective and transparent governance and clinical leadership.
- Build organisational capacity and capability.
- Implement policies, standards and processes which support patient-centred models of care and help improve business processes.
7. Research and Innovation
WA Health aims to create a culture of continuous improvement and clinical excellence through research and innovation. WA Health will:
- Work towards world-class research to translate new knowledge into innovative technologies and programs for health service delivery.
- Establish or enhance relationships with institutions of research and learning.
- Invest in health and medical research, particularly through collaborative ventures.
Health Reform
The Health Reform program redefines roles and responsibilities between health services and the Department of Health. The Reform includes the Department of Health’s transition to a System Manager and involves the establishment of a new governance model for WA Health. New legislation will provide support for the devolution of decision making and role clarity at all levels within the system.
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