Improving HealthPathways for the Veteran Community

On the 19^th and 20^th of May, Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network, Northern Queensland Primary Health Network and the Department of Veterans Affairs conducted consultation with the Veteran Community and local Townsville General Practitioners.

The engagement took place at the local Veterans Wellbeing Centre ‘The Oasis’ Townsville.

On day one, the teams met with consumers to understand how they navigate the transition out of defence into mainstream healthcare. Participants were asked to list what is working well, highlight barriers and provide a list of opportunities for improvement.

On day two the team met with local GPs to review the prioritised activities collated the previous day with the consumers. With these points in mind the GPs reviewed the current Veteran HealthPathways pages highlighting areas for improvement or addition and collectively provide feedback regarding what would improve access to information in a timely manner and support them with helping consumers navigate their healthcare journey when transitioning from the defence force.

The working group will action the outcomes from these two workshops and share our work across the nation to inform other HealthPathways sites.