A Healthcare Neighbourhood is all the health and social services in a defined geographic area and the people who use those services.

Our Healthcare Neighbourhood model aims to help local care providers develop stronger relationships and work better together so people in the community get the best care and are happier and healthier.

The goals of Healthcare Neighbourhoods include:

• increased awareness of referral pathways
• increased communication between neighbours
• stronger working relationships between neighbours
• better coordinated patient care
• increased use of eHealth technology
• improved patient experience through more connected healthcare

Stronger relationships, seamless integration, superior experience

Strong functional neighbourhoods are characterised by personal relationships built on trust, mutual aspiration, philosophical alignment and shared care arrangements to address patients’ needs.

The Agency for Clinical Innovation is partnering with Primary Health Networks and Local Health Districts to support the development of three local Healthcare Neighbourhoods:

• Auburn Healthcare Neighbourhood
• Hornsby/Ku-ring-gai Healthcare Neighbourhood
• Upper Blue Mountains Healthcare Neighbourhood

These Neighbourhoods will participate in the upcoming Healthcare Neighbourhoods Collaborative where each neighbourhood will hold a series of workshops for health and social service providers (neighbours) from the local area. The workshops will be an opportunity for neighbours to come together, build stronger relationships with each other, and learn how to trial changes within their workplaces using a structured methodology.