We’re excited to announce that the Care Coordination Support Service (CCSS) is growing, and is now available in all Local Government Areas (LGAs) within south eastern Melbourne.

Delivered by Silverchain, CCSS links individuals with the appropriate clinical and non-clinical services to support their wellbeing, reduce presentations at emergency departments and decrease preventable hospital admissions.

The service supports patients based on their individual needs and will complement the care and clinical services offered by local general practices and pharmacies. This includes:

• Supporting general practices to provide patient-centred care through comprehensive care coordination activities
• Linking people who don’t have a regular GP, and are more likely to access emergency department services, to general practice services
• Developing and implementing a pharmacy-based after hours awareness initiative to increase consumer awareness of local services
• Developing a potential referral pathway involving public hospitals.

An active participant of the CCSS program, Dr Gowri Ratnavelar from GPG GP Clinic says that the program has enabled her to provide greater support to her community and empowered patients better navigate the healthcare system.

A sole practitioner, Dr Gowri works with many refugee and recent migrant patients who often require more personalised support, tailored to their individual needs.

“Many of my patients have complex needs, and indeed complex lives. They need to be made to feel comfortable. CCSS support staff from Silverchain provide this with empathy and compassion,” Dr Gowri said.

“The CCSS program has made a big difference to my practice. Together, we can do more for patients. It’s a great service – patients really benefit and I highly recommend it.”

If you have any questions or need to check your patient’s eligibility for this service, you can contact Silverchain on 1300 300 122 or email screferrals@silverchain.org.au