The pod model – innovation, connection and collaboration

“Our approach sees us provide good, thorough care as opposed to quick frequent care… Everyone uses their different skills and the outcome is so much more effective.”

An average day for Dr Mark Berry is filled with patient yarns, daily admin and connecting with multi-disciplinary teams to deliver best-practice, culturally safe care.  As Clinical Director and GP at Moreton ATSICHS, Mark has spent more than a decade playing an active role in community-controlled healthcare.

Supporting the wider team to work in an innovative pod model, Mark helps oversee multi-disciplinary groups – including a GP, a health and wellbeing worker, a nurse and an admin officer – who meet daily to discuss the best way to support each patient. Rather than functioning in isolation, colleagues from a wide variety of disciplines share their skills – meaning even the most complex cases can be tackled in an effective, holistic way.

“Our approach sees us provide good, thorough care as opposed to quick frequent care – we offer longer appointments, and there’s less pressure to get through numbers,” says Mark. “Patients don’t have to rely on one person as their point of entry for any particular support. They can choose someone from their team, which always includes someone who’s Aboriginal, so there’s an effort to improve community connection and cultural safety. And as a GP it means not everything is on your shoulders – everyone uses their different skills and the outcome is so much more effective.”

Prioritising long-term care

The pod model gives patients autonomy over their own care and team, and it’s a system that offers benefits for patients and health professionals alike.

“When you shift to community-controlled health, it’s a move to something fantastic,” says Mark.  “It’s a real change of career – it’s less around cycling through clients as much as possible, and instead shifting it back to chronic disease management, long-term care and genuine connections. Plus it’s a stable, salaried position with annual leave – meaning you can look after your family and remove the pressure felt by some GPs.”

With the pod model delivering successes including reduced wait-times, easier access to services and stronger relationships between clients and their healthcare team, Moreton ATSICHS continues to innovate and grow its offering. Ultimately, Mark’s clear about what continues to motivate him after a decade spent working in community-controlled health.

“What keeps me going most is the connections you build with community,” says Mark. “It doesn’t happen straight away – you have to earn it over time, but once it’s there it’s really fulfilling. Being able to take a few minutes and yarn with somebody and be accepted by them as an equal – it’s fantastic.”

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