Health care agencies seek interest in Community Health Hubs

In a major step forward in the implementation of the Primary and Community Care Strategy, Southern DHB and WellSouth Primary Health Network are seeking information from investors about the development Community Health Hubs.

A request for information (RFI) has been published to the Government Electronic Tendering System (GETS) calling for information from investors and developers about Community Health Hub facilities.

The RFI is a survey and will help Southern DHB and WellSouth gauge the market and inform next steps.

“A Community Health Hub is our next move in the transformation of health services in the district and we are looking forward to getting others engaged in this important initiative,” says Chris Fleming, Chief Executive, Southern DHB. “It is a significant step in advance of the new Dunedin Hospital and supports our goals of making health care more accessible while making best use of our resources.”

At the same time, workshops with health-care providers will also be taking place to look at transforming how health-care services can be organised and delivered in the future, coordinating with the physical infrastructure, technology and workforce changes anticipated in the coming years.

The RFI seeks information from potential investors and/or developers about matters WellSouth and Southern DHB may need to consider before making any commercial decisions around CHHs.  Another RFI seeking information from health care service providers about service delivery from these hubs may be issued in the future.

Community Health Hubs are facilities bringing together a mix of general practice and hospital-based healthcare along with some community services, to deliver better-integrated and more accessible health care for the local population. The range of services will vary depending on the needs of the local population but will include a Health Care Home general practice as well as services such as diagnostics - labs or radiology, for example - some outpatient clinics, district nursing services or allied health such as physiotherapy and pharmacy. 

The creation of a number of Community Health Hubs was set out in the Primary and Community Care Strategy launched last year and their locations are likely to be in Dunedin, Invercargill, Gore, Balclutha, Oamaru and Central Lakes.

The link to the Request for Information document is: www.gets.govt.nz, GETS ID reference: 21060431. The RFI questionnaire can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CommunityHealthHubs

The RFI closes Wednesday 26 June at 3pm. It can be viewed here.