Major overhaul to Victoria’s health system announced

THE Victorian government has today (Thursday, August 8) confirmed an additional $1.5 billion in funding will be injected into Victoria’s health system, but forced amalgamation has been taken off the table.

In July last year, the Department of Health commissioned an independent committee to review the design of Victoria’s system of public health services and develop a new health services plan.

The report, publicly released this week, paints the picture of a health system that is “no longer fit for purpose”, and finds the system’s structure and its “siloed nature” was aggravating the pressure felt by Victoria’s 76 health services and workforce.

“Our system is under increasing strain, exacerbated by the enduring impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report states.

“Our precious health resources are not aligned to best meet the needs of patients now and into the future.

“Increasing demand of services and changing disease and demographic trends require integrated models of care that the current system is not designed to deliver.”

Rumours of an impending merger between some hospitals and services have been circulating for months, creating uncertainty among health care professionals who have raised concerns that rural and regional communities may be adversely affected and find themselves having to travel further to access care.

While the government has ruled out amalgamation between health services, as recommended by the committee, it has announced a major overhaul of the health care system, accepting the recommendation that the system be restructured into local health service networks.

These networks will bring together hospitals within a defined geographical location to enable greater collaboration and staffing support, and according to the committee, will “address issues that existing health services find challenging to manage on their own”.

In regional Victoria, these networks will be known as Barwon South West, Grampians, Loddon Mallee, Hume and Gippsland.

A formal relationship will be established between each network and a major tertiary, women’s and children’s hospital, allowing patients improved access to specialist care, the strengthening of referral pathways and the sharing of expertise across specialties.

As part of the reforms, the state government will also establish Hospitals Victoria, a new agency within the Department of Health to help consolidate and streamline the health system’s back-office functions that will assist in the operation of, and collaboration between, hospitals.

Patient record systems between hospitals will also be standardised, as will the payroll and IT functions within each local health service network, once they are established.

“Victoria’s health system is one of the best in the world, and these reforms will keep us on track to deliver even better patient care through a reformed health system that is better integrated and connected, at the same time protecting the local services we know Victorians trust and rely on,” Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas said.