Service providers working together to improve Goondiwindi region services

Local and visiting service providers have formed a new interagency group to improve and streamline the care provided to Goondiwindi region residents.

The group will meet each month to plan how the different available services can complement each other and identify potential opportunities for providers to work collaboratively.

Kirsty Dowling of Care Goondiwindi is the facilitator of the new group. She is encouraging any organisations who deliver services to the Goondiwindi region to get involved and take part in their next monthly meeting on Thursday 12th November.

“We are encouraging service providers to join in and discuss how we can work together to benefit our region,” Ms Dowling said. “We want to create better awareness of the services already on offer locally, and hopefully the meetings will have some great collaborative outcomes in the future too.”

Ms Dowling is also asking local service providers to get in touch prior to the meetings to add any specific topics to the agenda that they would like discussed.

“Each meeting will be an information sharing session for providers to discuss their service, what’s been happening in the past month, any upcoming training on offer, any changes in available services and so on,” Ms Dowling said.

Cr Phil O’Shea holds Goondiwindi Regional Council’s Health, Ageing, Arts and Culture portfolio and will chair the monthly meetings. He said the new interagency group was an opportunity for service providers to develop a more collaborative approach and achieve better outcomes for local residents.

“We are very fortunate to have so many amazing agencies across the region visiting and established in our town – from Care Goondiwindi to disability support and respite services, from mental health services to Drug ARM,” Cr O’Shea said.

“This is an opportunity to smooth out and encourage communication between these agencies for even better care and access to services,” he said. “Council is happy to have a role in assisting local community agencies to work together to get the best outcomes for its residents.

“Better awareness in the community and among providers themselves means that healthcare professionals and other associated agencies will be able to refer clients to services they may not have known they could access before.”

Meetings will take place on the second Thursday of each month, with the next meeting to take place at 10am on Thursday 12th November (venue TBC). Meetings will run for no more than one hour and you can attend in-person or online via Microsoft Teams.

For more information, please contact the group’s meeting facilitator Kirsty Dowling on 46700700 or kirsty.dowling@caregoondiwindi.org.au.