cohealth

Last week, cohealth, Women's Health In the North (WHIN), and students and leadership from Fitzroy North Primary School joined together to launch the Activating Student Voice for Gender Equality (ASVGE) toolkit. ASVGE is a project aimed at increasing student’s knowledge of gender equality and building their capacity to take action at school. The toolkit supports primary schools and community organisations to deliver the project. The toolkit can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gscr5SCc We’re so proud of all the students who have participated in this project so far. Your ideas, enthusiasm and empathy give us so much hope for the future. Young people want to be agents for change and it’s important that their voices are enabled and heard! For more information about the toolkit, schools and organisations can get in touch with info@whin.org.au.

For clients like Emily, being with cohealth has made every difference in her staying well. She says walking into cohealth was a “breath of fresh air”. It had become exhausting telling her complex health history over and over to different specialists at the hospital and for a while she gave up treatment. But when she walked through our doors, she found people who took the time to listen to her, know her name and know her story. She’s not rushed out the door, with her doctor always making sure she’s safe to leave the room. “Basically it makes me feel cared for, which is essentially what a GP's job is. I walk out with a weight lifted off my shoulders” says Emily At cohealth, all your healthcare can be under one umbrella and you can expect the same level of non-judgemental, compassionate care from everyone you see. Even if you see different health workers, you’ll never have to retell your story because our staff work together understand and support you. Outside of appointments staff collaborate so that each client is given support that considers all their needs as a whole person.    “Every service should be this way,” says Emily.  

This Thursday, join cohealth, Women's Health In the North (WHIN) and students from Fitzroy North Primary School as we launch the Activating Student Voices for Gender Equality toolkit.

During 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, join cohealth and Moonee Valley City Council for 'Together for Change’, a community workshop focussed on family and gender-based violence prevention.     The event aims to promote and build a whole-of-community approach to preventing gender-based violence in Moonee Valley.    We will honour survivor-advocates and identify areas for community-led prevention actions. Participants will hear from a range of speakers and have the opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas and questions.    We hope you will come away from the event with a clearer idea of how you can contribute to family violence prevention in Moonee Valley, as well as a poster and info pack on family violence support.   Lunch will be provided to fuel what we know is going to be a great day of discussions and solutions!     This free event will take place on 1 December at 10am at the Clocktower Centre in Moonee Ponds. RVSP to secure your spot.

Today we’re coming together with the transgender community in solidarity as we remember those community members who have lost their lives. We celebrate the strength that we know it takes to navigate this world as a transgender person in the face of transphobia and discrimination.    We will always do everything we can to make our care and spaces safe, welcoming and supportive for our transgender clients. We acknowledge the part that healthcare has played in the discrimination transgender people face globally, and we are committed to always listening and learning.

Today we’re pleased to announce that, thanks to a joint Federal Government and cohealth funding commitment, we will be able to keep our GP services at our Hoddle St Collingwood, Brunswick St Fitzroy and Gower St Kensington sites open until July 31 2026. Over the past few weeks, we have been heartened and humbled by the community’s response and the deep care that exists for our GP clinics. We’ve witnessed an outpouring of support for the care we provide in our clinics that many of you have told us has changed your lives. There has also been pain, hurt and distress felt by clients, community and by staff, and we want to acknowledge how hard this has been for many people. Thank you for sharing with us your concern and your passion. Our collective voices have been heard. We’re grateful for the Federal Government’s investment. Along with the cohealth Board’s decision to defer closures and fund an extended transition period, it allows us to continue to deliver GP care to our clients for a longer time. This extension also allows us time to work with government on a longer-term, sustainable funding solution for the kind of care our community deserves. Your stories have demonstrated just how vital our services are, and they are what has driven us to work so hard to secure this outcome. We remain committed to this community, our clients and our mission of care for all. For more information, please see our website: https://lnkd.in/gsd_z5HC

For most of her 30s, Emily was in hospital.  “I have quite a complex health issue,” she says. “Going to the GP was quite overwhelming ... but I needed one.” As Emily tried to find a GP who was the right fit for her, she found herself having to explain her health history over and over. She said she felt judged often for not working, as she didn’t have enough time in a standard 15-minute appointment to explain her background.  “I was going from GP to GP, and it was really hard to find someone prepared to work with me,” Emily says. “Eventually I found amazing GPs at cohealth.”  Once she became a cohealth client, Emily was able to build a trusting relationship with her GP who heard her whole history and was able to take the time needed in appointments for everything she wanted to discuss.   “They’re the most caring GPs I’ve ever come across. They helped me with issues where I self-medicated and got those under control. They were amazing,” she says. “Even when a friend passed away, they checked in with me and remembered little details like my name, despite seeing so many people. It’s lovely to have someone remember you and check in before you leave.” Over the years, Emily has accessed care from multiple cohealth sites and services. Having that care coordinated between specialists from the one provider has made a huge difference.     “Having everything under one umbrella makes sense. Otherwise, you go from place to place and they’re trying to get information again. You have to explain your story repeatedly and it drains your energy when you’re unwell.”     Emily feels strongly that GPs should be better funded so that they can always provide this care—the kind that that makes client feel understood and supported and where the GPs work side by side with other specialists.    “It seems like it would cost the government so much more money to send you to all these different places. Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to have everything under one umbrella?” 

The challenges facing community-based GP care reflect long-standing, system-wide funding pressures that make it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people in our communities. Community health is funded to deliver standard care, but we are meeting extraordinary need. Across Fitzroy, Kensington, and Collingwood, the impending closures of cohealth’s GP clinics are deeply distressing for clients, families, and staff. For people with complex health and social needs, these clinics offer more than just services - they are lifelines that offer care, connection, and trust every day. The immense concern felt by patients, staff and communities is a reflection of the essential role these clinics play in keeping our communities alive. I want to thank our communities for their advocacy and for standing up for local primary care. Your voices matter, and we hear you. What gives me hope is the incredible support I have experienced in recent weeks - from partners, governments, local MPs, hospitals, Primary Health Networks, and community leaders – and a genuine willingness to come together to collectively solve these system challenges. I am focused on bringing these people together to explore innovative approaches and sustainable system solutions that will keep this essential care local, trusted, and accessible. The future of community-based GP care depends on us working together to strengthen our system to continue to deliver care that we know changes lives.

For Kamilaroi woman and Fitzroy client Xantia, the care she has received from her cohealth team has been pivotal to improving her health and wellbeing. “cohealth provides a service that understands my complex history, has cultural awareness and understands the financial and social difficulties of its community.” This week, Xantia shared with us beautiful artwork depicting her team at our Fitzroy site. In the artwork her GP, Dr Simon, is at the centre. “Dr Simon [is] the driving force, coordinating support between the specialists at cohealth, and my numerous specialists in other areas of the community and public system,” Xantia’s artist statement says. “He is carrying a message stick in front of him, showing care coordination and communication between each other.” This kind of GP care has immense value to people. Having a trusted GP who can coordinate care within a dedicated team of health workers —including physios, dietitians, podiatrists, nurses, support workers and more—is what our clients deserve. We will continue to advocate strongly for a funding model that better supports our GPs, and GPs across the country, to provide this kind of wrap-around, holistic care to their clients. “I have a doctor who is truly dedicated to supporting me and understanding and treating my complex condition as best possible.” Community health is keeping Australians alive. GP services in Collingwood, Fitzroy & Kensington are under threat, impacting thousands of Victorians, just like Xantia. We need urgent Federal funding to protect our most vulnerable people and our communities. #FundCommunityHealth

As of December 2025, GP services at our Hoddle St Collingwood, Brunswick St Fitzroy and Gower St Kensington sites will end.   This is not an easy decision to share, as we know how many clients have strong and trusting relationships with our GPs at these sites.  For years, cohealth GPs have been striving to deliver extraordinary care, while being funded for standard care. Many of our clients require longer appointments and compassionate care navigation. Our GPs provide these things as they are committed to our clients, but current funding does not cover all of this work. This has become unsustainable, so we have made the difficult decision to scale back our GP services. We know this news will cause distress for many clients. We are here to support you and answer any questions you have.   This announcement is part of broader changes to services impacting cohealth Collingwood, Fitzroy, and Kensington. For all the details, visit https://lnkd.in/gmKF4xsy. After this change, our communities in Victoria will still have access to GP services at our Paisley St site in Footscray and to GPs who are embedded in programs, such as AOD, homelessness, and our Refugee Health programs. We will continue to operate a GP service at the Royal Children’s Hospital and at the Youth Justice Precinct.