COMMITTEE FOR LORNE: A joint proposal to combine and strengthen health services

Over the past 18 months, the Boards of Lorne Community Hospital and Otway Health have been exploring our ability to share resources, to ensure the long-term success and viability of our existing health care services.

Our General Practices are now integrated, and we are confident that we have structures in place that will sustain doctors’ services into the long term.

This exploration has identified additional opportunities for a sustainable health service along the Great Ocean Road and as a result, Lorne Community Hospital and Otway Health are planning to seek approval from the Minister for Health and Human Services to combine operations under a single entity.

The joint proposal of the two Boards to combine the health services of Lorne Community Hospital and Otway Health will ensure the provision of improved service delivery and greater access to care for local communities, still close to home.

Otway Health and Lorne Community Hospital are both faced with challenges experienced by regional and rural health facilities (e.g. recruitment and retention of staff, service availability), which can impact on how we deliver health services to the people in our community. Our geography and seasonal population on the Great Ocean Road put us in a rather unique
position. The two current Boards are taking a proactive approach to ensure the future sustainability of our health services across the local regions of Apollo Bay, Lorne and surrounds, by coming together to build and further improve on our existing safe, high quality services. We want to meet the health needs of our communities in the best way possible, into the future.

By joining the two health services we can:
• Enhance the sustainability and increased stability of GP services throughout the local region;
• Increase access to a broader range of health services locally, and we would have greater choice of where our health services are conducted;
• Improve levels of care as we share knowledge, expertise and training across both sites;
• Provide greater work opportunities for staff such as professional development and extended scope of practice, flexible job sharing and workplace location, resulting in a highly skilled workforce in this area; and
• Improve operational effectiveness that can be directed towards enhancing direct patient care.

We anticipate that the community members and visitors who use our health services, as well as those who work with us, may have a range of questions as to what this all means.

We welcome you to engage in direct discussions via small group ‘tea talks’ with the CEO and Board members. In addition, regular information updates will be published via local newspapers and newsletters, Otway Health and Lorne Community Hospital websites, mail-outs and social media platforms.

To register your interest to attend a 45-minute Tea Talk session, please contact:

• Otway Health
Phone: (03) 5237 8502
Email: [email protected]

• Lorne Community Hospital
Phone: (03)5289 4386
Email: [email protected]