Alcohol and other Drugs (AOD) Regional Co-design Project – Geelong Otway

Underpinning the future model are seven design principles which describe how the AOD system should operate. The principles are informed by the Victorian alcohol and drug treatment principles and have been tailored to the Geelong-Otway context based on what you’ve told us to date.

What do you think about these principles? Are these the right principles on which to build an AOD system?

PROPOSED KEY PRINCIPLES

Person-centred: The system responds to the multiple needs of the person seeking AOD support

Accessible: The system enables people to access AOD treatment regardless of where they live or their financial situation

Coordinated: The system enables and supports coordination and integration of AOD and other services and is easily navigated by consumers and significant others.

Flexible: The system provides a spectrum of treatment options ranging in intensity, modalities, times and locations to suit the consumer’s needs

Effective: The service elements within the system are supported by a robust evidence base and a suitably, qualified and experienced workforce.

Efficient: The system is designed to achieve the best possible outcomes from limited resources.

Responsive to diversity: The system provides culturally responsive services, including to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to people from diverse backgrounds.

The key outcomes reflect what we want a high-performing AOD system to deliver, if the design principles are successfully implemented. They aren't intended to represent every possible outcome, but should reflect those that stakeholders feel are most important.

What do you think about these outcomes? Are these the outcomes we should be striving for?

PROPOSED KEY OUTCOMES

Consumer experience outcomes: These outcomes reflect the experience of service that consumers can expect from a high-performing AOD system

• Consumers have equitable access to supports regardless of where they live or their financial situation
• Consumers and those supporting them have a positive experience accessing supports regardless of their point of entry
• Consumers feel respected and empowered when engaging with AOD services

• AOD services are reliably available and sustainably operated
• Higher downstream costs of supports are reduced through effective earlier intervention
• Effective services deliver value for money by maximising outcomes within their available resources

The first two stages of the Co-design involved workshops with services in Geelong and Colac held in June and July, and a Consumer survey distributed in August. During this period, almost 80 people were involved in the co-design, representing services, consumers and their families, carers and significant others, primary care providers, and other community stakeholders.

We’d welcome any comments or observations you might make about the key messages we’ve heard so far.

KEY MESSAGES

• While consumers are generally able to access supports that are affordable, barriers remain to consumers accessing support. These were reported to relate to poor quality or a lack of information available to consumers and those supporting them, a lack of service options especially in areas outside of regional centres, long wait times to receive treatment and a fear of being stigmatised of discriminated against from service staff and the wider community.
• Consumers generally have a positive experience with services, once they overcome access barriers. Consumers generally were of the view that service staff are understanding, respectful and considerate of their circumstances when receiving supports.
• People we engaged with reported that there remain service gaps for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, consumers who need immediate intervention, people in crisis, the culturally and linguistically diverse community and socio-economically disadvantaged groups.
• We also heard that face-to-face contact is a critical first step for consumers to establish relationships and trust with service staff when receiving support. This is especially important for consumers in who live outside of regional centres and experience geographic isolation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander who can experience amplified discrimination and stigma from the wider community.
• Overall, we head feedback that there is at times a lack of coordination between services within the AOD sector, and between AOD services and primary, tertiary and community care sectors. Referrals pathways are not always clear, which can adversely impact on continuity of care.
• There is a need for greater collaboration and communication between specialist AOD services in the region, which could be operationalised through formal protocols such as care team meetings, referral pathways and improved governance structures.
• There are opportunities to for increased engagement between General Practitioners (GPs) and the AOD sector. Key areas for improvement suggested stakeholders we engaged with include strengthening referral pathways, reducing stigma and strengthening GPs’ knowledge about available AOD supports.
• We heard that AOD service staff are dedicated, experienced and knowledgeable. However, there were questions raised by people we engaged with about how to better equip the workforce to respond to dual diagnosis and increasingly complex cases.