The story of the PHN which set up a $2 million charity that delivered no services
The charity was meant to provide support services to GP practices on the brink of collapse.
A Primary Health Network has shut down a charity it established to support GP practices at risk of collapse, having spent $2.2 million on the venture that apparently delivered no services.
Western NSW Primary Health Network (PHN) is one of the largest PHNs in the country with a budget of over $45 million a year.
In 2023, it started discussions with the Department of Health of Aged Care with the idea of setting up a not-for-profit that would provide direct support to practices in the region at risk of closure.
At no point was funding approved but despite that, in September of that year the PHN’s parent company Western Health Alliance Limited (WHAL) established the Priority Red Health Foundation using reserve cash.
