The Victorian health system is a complex web of public and private providers, funded by the State and Commonwealth governments and used by a population who come from increasingly complex cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
The rate of change required to keep pace with the population’s health needs requires new and innovative ways of delivering care. Those organisations and individuals that are leading the way are seeking novel collaborations, drawing from expertise in other industries and constantly learning from their peers around the world. Sometimes this is via the establishment of formal partnerships such as Academic Health Science Centres or membership of groups such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. For Melbourne and Victoria, there is much that can be learned from following these models in the long term.
Victoria can continue its reputation as a leading state for innovative, proactive healthcare by building a network to deliver many of the advantages of these more formal partnerships:
- A single network which brings together everyone involved in the healthcare industry: health providers, policy leaders, politicians, business, entrepreneurs and the third sector;
- A neutral agenda-free space to test ideas amongst the leaders of health; and
- A forum for conversations that provoke our leaders to think differently
Establishing such a network in Melbourne is essential to meeting the challenges of healthcare delivery now and into the future. We need new ways of generating ideas and new ways of inspiring our health leaders and thinkers, which can all be accomplished through a forum that provokes and inspires.