Southern Adelaide Health Alliance launches second round of projects

The Southern Adelaide Health Alliance (SAHA) has launched its second round of projects which will focus on cancer survivorship, wound management and allergy services.
Southern Adelaide Health Alliance was established in December 2013, and is a  strategic partnership between Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN), Southern Adelaide-Fleurieu Kangaroo Island (SAFKI) Medicare Local, SA Ambulance Service and Health Consumers Alliance of SA. It brings together health and community providers in partnership with consumers of Southern Adelaide to better design, coordinate and integrate patient care.
Minister for Health Jack Snelling said that Southern Adelaide Health Alliance is unlike any alliance of its kind and links together well with the Transforming our South Australian Health System project announced in July.
“SAHA is making changes to our health system by optimising communication, being more efficient and sharing information across organisations,” Minister Snelling said. “Improvements are being made without costly changes to infrastructure or processes, but by using the expertise of clinicians and experiences of consumers, to create efficiencies in our system.”
The Chair of SAHA and Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network Belinda Moyes said that six Round 1 SAHA projects have been successful in giving back hours to the community.
These projects included:

• A flip chart which has been delivered to 60,000 homes in the Onkaparinga region to help people access the health services they need when they are unwell.


• A program to provide care in the homes of people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, utilising the skills of extended care paramedics and senior hospital nurses to provide training to GP practice nurses.


• Promoting a phone application to seniors to help them find the services they need – there has been a 300 percent increase in downloads through the SAHA project.


• Providing waiting times to outpatient clinics to GPs in Southern Adelaide.


• The 7 Step Pathway assists clinicians in having discussions about end of life care. The pathway is now being piloted in two residential aged care facilities.


• Developing pathways to iron infusion services for GPs.

“Following the success of the Round 1 projects, SAHA is delighted to announce three Round 2 projects, which further demonstrates the commitment of all of the organisations involved in this work,” she said.
"Within SAHA we have a commitment to drive change in the way we deliver health care that focuses on having real outcomes for the community and we are involving those consumers in every project we embark on.”
The three Round 2 projects are:
Supporting Cancer Survivors
Developing partnerships between hospital and community based services to provide ongoing health, social and emotional support to cancer survivors in Southern Adelaide.
Sharing Allergy Care
Setting up a shared care model between hospitals and GP practices so that children and adults can be treated in the community for certain allergies under specialist supervision.
Wound Care @ Home
A pilot program to improve the management of elderly patients with complex and chronic wounds in the community, in a partnership between Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) and SALHN under a HACC funding arrangement.
For more information visit www.saha.org.au