Women having gynaecological surgery in the Springfield region will have a greater voice in creating new healthcare services for the rapidly growing area, thanks to a $150 000 grant from Springfield City Group to Mater Foundation.
The Springfield Health City Research Grant will collect data on patient health outcomes and experiences that will be used to develop value-based services for the women of Springfield and surrounds.
“The purpose of this project is to drive consumer based healthcare at Mater Private Hospital Springfield that will create efficient services that meet the quality-of-life goals of patients,” said Mater Private Hospital Springfield Director of Clinical Services Suzanne Hawksley.
“Our initial focus is on the Mater Private Hospital Springfield campus where there are a number of new services to be delivered and redesigned over the next three or more years.”
Mater has partnered with the State Government to expand its existing hospital in Springfield’s Health City and to provide a range of first-off services to the region, including 174 public beds, maternity care, emergency department, intensive care unit and more. Stage 2 of Mater Private Hospital Springfield is expected to be completed by 2025.
Springfield City Group managing director Raynuha Sinnathamby said health was a cornerstone of the master-planned community and the research grants were one way to ensure people living and working in the region had access to the latest treatments and services.
“By supporting world-leading health research at Mater, we can reach our goal of developing a hub for innovative and contemporary evidence-based healthcare services at Springfield,” she said.
Mater Foundation Executive Director Andrew Thomas said the second annual Springfield Health City Research Grant enables Mater to continue to grow and develop innovative services in the region.
“These grants will lead to cutting-edge, evidence-based health services that will directly benefit the people of Springfield through improved research and healthcare services,” he said.
Mater Principal Project Officer for Value Based Healthcare and grant recipient, Elizabeth Martin, said the funding would assist Mater with its aim to become a national leader in using patient data to develop innovative, targeted clinical services.
“Value Based Health Care aligns services with outcomes that matter to the patient,” Ms Martin said.
“Mater strives to be a leader in this model of care by developing a nationally unmatched evidence base through software technology called QuestLink.
“The evidence base will demonstrate how Mater’s health services deliver excellence in care and contribute to achieving patients’ quality of life goals.
“There is currently no other large and complex health service in Australia that has achieved service-wide implementation of value-based health care approaches.”
Ms Hawksley said the value-based healthcare model would help Mater meet a number of different and competing demands.
“Consumers seek more involvement in their care and demand excellence while public and private health funders are demanding the stabilisation of healthcare costs,” she said.
“At the same time, clinicians are continually seeking ways to innovate and improve patient care, and a value-based approach is the best way to facilitate all of these priorities.”
