Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership health survey results released

The community pressure test survey was conducted by the Wimmera Southern Mallee regional partnership in July 2021, and looked to gauge the communities intake on information related to the merger.

More than 400 people participated in the survey, which asked seven questions on the community's awareness about the merger and how comfortable participants felt.

The results showed that 85 per cent of participants felt they did not have enough information on how health services could be affected.

Majority of participants also stated they did not feel the merger was on "the right track".

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At the end of the survey, participants were given the chase to provide extra comments, out of which researchers were able to identify six clear concerns: Cultural issues/ transfer of power, lack of clarity of information, lack of information about how attraction of skilled professionals will improve, lack of information on impact on ancillary services, impacts on other health services in the region and impacts on aged care delivery.

The survey recommended the release of the business case of the health service merger for further community clarification.

It also encouraged the development of specific key performance indicators for impacts on jobs and services in the region as a result of the merger.

Wimmera Health Care Group board chair Marie Aitken said the group was undertaking further community engagement as part of the process of creating the new health service entity.

"The findings of the Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership survey show that a large majority of people want more information about the potential benefits of bringing our four health services together," she said.

"Since this survey was taken, we have launched the Care For Our Region website which contains further details on how we can deliver better healthcare, enhanced services and advance careers, closer to home.

"The website houses materials on why the services propose to come together, and includes key information taken from the business case.

"We also have ongoing community newsletters and have embarked on further consultation with staff and community representatives.

"We remain committed to providing as much information as possible to our community and while we can't meet in person for information sessions during the lockdown, we are looking for ways to keep talking."

For more information on the Care for Our Region initiative, visit https://careforourregion.com.au/.

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