The Australian Government will provide a total of $5.75 million to four Primary Health Networks to lead development of the Primary Care Enhancement Program for people with intellectual disabilities.
It will give people with intellectual disabilities better access to appropriate, quality health services that meet their needs. The four lead PHNs will:
- Support health professionals in caring for people with intellectual disability.
- Facilitate access to appropriate, quality health services for people with intellectual disability.
- Promote take-up and quality of annual Medicare health assessments for people with intellectual disability.
- Help to ensure people with intellectual disability have equitable access to quality health prevention and health promotion programs.
- Ensure all of their programs are inclusive for people with intellectual disability.
The Council for Intellectual Disability will be a key partner with the Government as the Primary Care Enhancement Program is developed and rolled out.
National resources for the program will be developed over the next two years, including a training module for PHN staff, resources for GPs and other primary care professionals, National Disability Insurance Scheme linkage tools, and health promotion materials for people with intellectual disability and their families.
The Primary Care Enhancement Program was established following a roundtable in August 2019, which considered the inequities in health system access and quality for people with intellectual disability.
More information about the roadmap is available at information about the Roadmap
