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By DEAN LAWSON

The chairman of a regional organisation with a direct link to State Government decision-makers wants health groups that have signed off on a proposed merger to provide greater clarity on benefits of the move.

Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership chairman David Jochinke said communities deserved profound understanding of a move that carried significant socio-economic as well as health-service implications.

Mr Jochinke has asked Wimmera Health Care Group and Ballarat Health Services, as the largest health-service providers involved in the proposal, to provide the community with more detailed information.

“This proposal represents a profound shift that must have clear substantiation that it will broadly and significantly improve circumstances of regional communities,” he said.

“Risks that might occur through attempts to consolidate or improve services but at a cost that involves a loss of jobs, people and skills in the Wimmera and southern Mallee would obviously be detrimental.

“And a change like this must be about community-service improvement, not just maintaining a system to meet a perceived status quo. 

“We need a clear demonstration there will be improvement. 

“Having no reduction in services, for example,  is not a compelling enough reason for these groups to merge and it must also be more than establishing organisational efficiencies.”

Wimmera Health Care Group, Ballarat Health Services, Stawell Regional Health and Edenhope and District Memorial Hospital leaders announced last week they were proposing a regional amalgamation based on a pressing need to improve health services and outcomes across much of western Victoria.

The voluntary-based move can only proceed with State Government support and evidence of due diligence and community consultation and backing.

Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership and Wimmera Development Association have launched an online ‘temperature check’ survey to gauge latest community sentiment about the merger proposal.

The Wimmera Southern Mallee Health Services Community Pulse July 2021 survey, featuring a handful of specific quick-response questions about community understanding, is accessible at https://sprw.io/stt-dd9a91.

Mr Jochinke said it was important for people to clearly see and assess how a merger process might work.

“We would like to see the health services release the business case, implementation strategy and any strategic data that sits behind the decision, so the community can understand the reasons for it,” he said.

Mr Jochinke said Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership’s role was to advise the State Government on regional community priorities.

“For the moment, we don’t have any detailed information about why the merger is being proposed. So, it’s very difficult to form a position,” he said.

“Trust is also a big issue here and that involves ensuring a high degree of transparency for the community to believe amalgamation is the best way forward for our region.”

Mr Jochinke said he understood the health services needed to continue staff and community engagement as they prepared to lodge paperwork with the government’s Department of Health.

He said he had written to the chairs of the respective health services requesting merger discussions with Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnerships and local government chief executives and mayors.

“Our region has some of the worst health outcomes in the state and the regional partnership supports any project that might lead to us having the same level of health as metropolitan residents,” he said.

“As a regional partnership we’re not against amalgamation, but we would like to see the wider community being able to access and assess the business case behind the decision.

“What are the local levels of staffing and how will this change and what are existing levels of service delivery and what changes are proposed? 

“What is the baseline data we’re trying to change and how will the health groups involved measure performance? 

“We need this information to understand what is being proposed so we can have confidence that in five or 10 years our regional health outcomes have improved.”

Mr Jochinke said meaningful community engagement usually produced the best outcomes.

“We want to be confident that improving health outcomes for our region is the focus of this change and we can monitor performance,” he said.

“The community needs to get a good deal from any changes and we need evidence this is understood and supported by sound evidence.

“At the moment, many in the community remain in the dark about why this change is happening. 

“As a regional partnership we simply want to be better informed to play our role in advocating on behalf of the community.”

 

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