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This month, Grampians Health celebrated its first birthday with staff celebrations at each campus. With a workforce of more than 6000, the celebrations took the form of online events, as well as BBQs and a purple theme to acknowledge the new organisation’s brand.

On 1 November 2021, Edenhope and District Memorial Hospital, Stawell Regional Health, Wimmera Health Care Group and Ballarat Health Services came together to form Grampians Health, to enable closer collaboration to improve health care across the region.

The Grampians Health Strategic Plan and Clinical Services Plan, released earlier in 2022 outline the goals of the organisation, and how they will be achieved, with the focus being greater development of accessible care; that is: quality and timely care, closer to home.

In the consultation phase prior to coming together as Grampians Health, the community made clear the need for improved services for the quarter-million people who call the Grampians region home.

“The distances travelled for numerous services has not been fair, and equitable healthcare is something we aim to realise as Grampians Health,” said Dale Fraser, Chief Executive Officer Grampians Health

“Regardless of where you live, you should have easy access to quality, timely care. And while this is not something we can change for everyone in one year, we are well on the way to improving many areas of care, with a focus on increased services at our Dimboola, Edenhope, Horsham and Stawell campuses.”

In a year dotted with achievements, some milestones include: the appointment of a new orthopaedic surgeon working at the Horsham campus; the implementation of a nurse practitioner service to the Edenhope campus: the provision of a new model of care for the Urgent Care Clinic in Stawell; and the reintroduction of the Day Oncology program in Stawell.

Grampians Health has also hired an occupational therapist for Edenhope’s acute ward and aged care facility, as well as increased local paediatric services for Horsham, Stawell, Ararat and Maryborough.

“We’ve also made telehealth services more accessible with the introduction of specialised equipment at each campus, and we have delivered thousands more outpatient appointments in Horsham, despite the prevalence of COVID,” Mr Fraser said.

“Next month we will open the doors to a new maternity outpatient clinic in Horsham, and in 2023 the building of new staff accommodation in Horsham will commence.”

He added that increased collaboration between the campuses has enabled the organisation to mobilise staff across the region to fill workforce gaps.

“The coming together as Grampians Health has helped us achieve goals that would have been very difficult otherwise,” Mr Fraser said.

“We have a strong board of directors in place to guide us through our objectives and I’m very proud of the team of health care professionals who work across the region with Grampians Health as we continue to improve specialist services to the regions.”

The first-year anniversary also marks the first Life Governor Awards for the health service.

The awards aim to highlight the outstanding contribution made by a volunteer, staff member, philanthropist and/or community member to Grampians Health. Nominations are assessed on the basis of their impact, reach and their contributions and how they have positively impacted the health service and their delivery.

“We have recognised Life Governor awards at Edenhope, Horsham, and Ballarat, and the Stawell award will be announced in early January.”

“I want to thank the Grampians Health workforce and the communities we serve. Our staff demonstrate genuine care for our community each day, and reciprocally we appreciate the kindness the community reflects when they come to us.”

“Thank you for considering the complexities involved in reviewing and aligning services, and for the patience you have afforded us as we band together to build a trusted, progressive and innovative leader of regional and rural healthcare.

Achievements of Grampians Health:

• New advertising campaign to grow our regional workforce
• Orthopaedic surgeon appointed to work at Horsham and Ballarat
• New model of care for Stawell Urgent Care
• Recommencement of Day Oncology program at Stawell
• Recommenced rehabilitation services to Horsham campus
• Appointment of an occupational therapist to support Edenhope acute and aged care
• The submission of a Gender Equality Action Plan for all campuses
• New Telehealth equipment provided to each campus
• Staff accommodation in Horsham