By LIAM DURKIN
LATROBE Regional Health Chief Executive, Don McRae has moved to reassure health services will not be compromised following the state government’s announcement of local health service networks.
The networks are grouped together by geographic regions, which the state government says will support improved cooperation between local services, ensure doctors and specialists are available to care for patients closer to where they live, deliver clearer pathways in and out of hospital, and support better waitlist management across a region.
The governance of each health service, including its board and chief executive, identity and connection to community, will remain unchanged.
“It’s about making sure we are all on the same page, pulling in the same direction working for people in our community,” Mr McRae told the Express.
“The (Gippsland) network will be tasked by government to take on a certain role within the region and that will be to facilitate access and flow across the region and apply some quality improvement initiatives and opportunities, and to develop a workforce plan for the region to make sure we are bringing the right people into the region to be able to provide care for our communities, and to look at opportunities to share services.”
“At the centre of our health system reform is Victorian patients and staff – this is about expanding access to frontline services, particularly in regional and rural Victoria,” Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas added.
The network groupings were determined following extensive consultation with health services, with consideration given to population growth, community need, clinical capability and distance between services.
Mr McRae spent considerable time late last year talking to healthcare partners and travelling the region to get a greater understanding of communities.
He said patients can expect greater cooperation between services, and more integrated and smooth clinical pathways.
“If they are sitting in Orbost and they need care at Bairnsdale or Latrobe, then those pathways will be very well structured,” he said.
“For the patient, that will be seamless, so that means less waiting, more access and a broader range of services.”
Mr McRae also wished to clarify the misconception that the networks were ‘mergers’ – the tag given by the opposition.
State Nationals leader and Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien however said Gippslanders should be very concerned about the impact the new health networks will have on local services.
“We have been warning for some time that Labor wanted to merge Victoria’s health services into a handful of organisations. We’ve seen it today now with a new Gippsland network combining eight different services into one network,” he said.
“While we are always keen to see efficiencies and sharing of resources across our health services, I am very concerned that this will actually lead to diminished local decision making in our rural and regional hospitals and ultimately a reduction in services.”
The Nationals have also raised concerns over LRH mental health services.
Recent performance reports released by the Department of Health showed LRH was failing to meet mental health-based government service targets.
Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron said it was extremely disappointing to see LRH continuing to fail to meet service targets despite the recent establishment of a $10 million emergency department mental health hub.
“This report shows LRH as the worst performing public hospital in the state in terms of meeting mental health community service hours targets,” he said.
“While it was promising to see financial investment in LRH through the establishment of the mental health hub, this is only beneficial if we are actually able to staff and properly resource the facility.”
Mr McRae acknowledged the issue, saying work was underway to help remedy the situation.
“Certainly, like any other mental health service across the state, we are having challenges with workforce, but we’re well on track to recruiting a really strong and vibrant mental health team to deliver services to our communities,” he said.
