Northern Grampians Shire Council has passed a motion of no confidence in Grampians Health at a Northern Grampians Shire Council Meeting, held on Monday, August 7, in St Arnaud, with votes falling four councillors for the motion, and two against.
The motion, submitted to the council meeting agenda by Cr. Rob Haswell, cited a significant list of rationale behind the move, with the final decision to move the motion of no confidence against Grampians Health agreed by majority on the basis that there has been, to date, little to no improvement in the available health services provided since the agreed amalgamation of Stawell Regional Health and Grampians Health in 2021.
The Mayor of Northern Grampians Shire Council, Cr. Kevin Erwin, along with his fellow councillors, has further resolved to express its gratitude and ongoing appreciation to the staff and front-line workers of Grampians Health and all health workers in the municipality, and has directed the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Grampians Shire Council to send this motion to the State Health Minister and the Premier and request a meeting with both.
Amalgamation
The initial announcement and address to councillors of the Grampians Health amalgamation was delivered by Kate Pryde, who was, at that time, CEO of Stawell Regional Health.
Ms Pryde addressed councillors on April 19, 2021, and, during her presentation, she addressed the concerns of councillors, assuring Northern Grampians Shire Council that the amalgamation would improve the level of healthcare and medical services in Stawell.
“The council arrived at the point of passing this resolution after a lengthy and exhaustive period of consulting with Grampians Health and our community,” Cr. Erwin said.
“The availability of affordable and readily accessible quality healthcare services is a matter of key importance to our residents, and we need to make it clear that the current level of service provided by Grampians Health is not hitting the mark. We don’t want our healthcare shipped out down the highway, we want the services plan that was promised, and we won’t accept less than that as a benchmark. Our residents deserve a functional quality local healthcare service.”
The council has observed rising levels of concern among Stawell residents regarding the level of service provided by Grampians Health since the amalgamation of health services in November 2021.
“We were told that the amalgamation into Grampians Health would lead to an improved and more efficient health service,” Cr. Erwin added.
“However, our experience thus far is a haphazard arrangement of visiting locum doctors who never have the opportunity to get to know their patients, which consequently is threatening the quality and consistency of health care provided to hundreds of our residents.”
Northern Grampians Shire Council is committed to working alongside its community to advocate to Government to determine the most effective infrastructure and systems required and to commit to delivering improved health services for Northern Grampians.
The submission to the August 7 Northern Grampians Shire Council Meeting Agenda regarding the motion of no confidence in Grampians Health can be accessed via https://www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/Council/Council-Meetings
Complaints
During the past year, there has been an ever-increasing number of complaints from residents regarding the services provided by Grampians Health. Earlier this year, a public meeting was held at Stawell Hospital, attended by approximately 120 concerned residents. A statement released prior to this meeting by the council can be viewed via https://www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/Latest-News/Grampians-Health-assures-council-of-commitment-to-quality-service.
This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 11 August 2023.
