By JESSE GRAHAM AND KATH GANNAWAY
THE GROUP campaigning to ensure the future of health services in the Yarra Valley is again calling on Upper Yarra residents for support.
The Save Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG) has called a public meeting for Wednesday, 16 July, following actions by the State Government they say could alter the course of their campaign.
SHHAG has been campaigning for over a year to undertake an independent case study into the future of the Healesville and District Hospital, which is the nearest public hospital for Upper Yarra residents.
The study would determine whether the hospital would be better off under Eastern Health or moving to become an independent health service, and is in its preliminary stages, awaiting the release of financial data by the Ministry of Health.
Health Minister David Davis announced however that the Health Department had undertaken a study of its own.
Mr Davis said that a review commissioned by the department “assessed how local health agencies would operate as a small rural health service, as opposed to being part of Eastern Health.”
The health agencies mentioned are the hospital and aged-care facility Monda Lodge, as well as Yarra Valley Community Health which runs programs and services out of Yarra Junction.
Mr Davis said the report showed that separation from Eastern Health would mean the Healesville health agencies would face significant new administration costs currently delivered by Eastern Health.
“This is money better directed to local patient care,” he said.
SHHAG has raised $80,000 in donation to undertake the case study and Chair, Fiona McAllister said the group’s first reaction was to see the government stand as an act of “contempt”.
“I have to say their response makes us immediately suspicious that they’re not willing to enter into a transparent and robust process to look at the best future of our health services,” she said.
She said the minister had indicated over a month ago that he would release Eastern Health’s financial data for the hospital to the group, but that they had heard nothing since.
She said the SHHAG case study could go ahead.
“We can still do service profiling and look at what our community needs – there are other options available,” Ms McAllister said.
“But, clearly, we want to make the best use of the money that the community worked hard to raise, and the more we have for that, the better.”
In response to enquiries to Minister Davis’s office about whether Eastern Health data would be released for the case study, and whether their own report would be released, a spokesman said “this is an extensive report that looks at all background information.”
The public meeting, at The Memo starts at 7pm and will look at where to now for the SHHAG campaign.
