I rise to make a statement on the Western District Health Service annual report
for 2006-07. This report is co-signed by the service’s president, Richard
Walter, and its chief executive officer, Jim Fletcher. It touches on many of the
highlights of 2007 that the service is particularly proud of. Its major
achievements include the re-accreditation of the aged-care residential
facilities at Hamilton and Penshurst and the re-accreditation of the
postgraduate medical program. It also received top ratings for external cleaning
audits, patient satisfaction, waste management and pressure-area care and
maintained its accreditation status with the Australian Council on HealthCare
Standards.
With regard to human resources, the Western District Health
Service received a number of awards — the Victorian public health award, the
state nursing excellence award, the south-west coast employee of the year award
and the Australian annual reporting gold medal — and a commendation for the
Premier’s primary health service of the year award.
The quality of the service and the excellent organisational
skills of its staff were also recognised with a number of funding grants awarded
during the reporting period. There was a state government grant of just over $1
million over a three-year period to expand the chronic disease management
program. This program focuses on two leading causes of illness in the shire:
respiratory disease and heart disease. There was also $186 000 from the state
government to support the involvement of and partnership with local GPs in the
management of people with chronic disease, and an additional $614 000 for the Go
for Your Life program.
On 5 August at the invitation of the service I visited
Coleraine and had an opportunity to look at a range of health and care
facilities in the town. I thank Jim Fletcher for the time he spent in taking me
through existing facilities and the master plan that is the vision for health
care in Coleraine. I was also there to launch the three independent living
units, which the state government made a contribution to in the 2005 budget. It
was very pleasing to formally open those three units and go into the home of one of the residents,
who was very welcoming. The state government contributed $250 000 to those three
units and $331 640 was contributed by the M. B. Wishart Foundation. One of the
descendants of those who established the Wishart Foundation was in attendance at
the launch and met again a number of people in Coleraine that day. She is
permanently located in Hamilton and also has a history in health care in the
area.
I take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the
Western District Health Service. We know that providing good-quality health care
is incredibly important for rural Victoria. I want to thank also the staff who
showed me through the Coleraine hospital and explained the physical issues they
have in terms of their working environment. It impressed on me the need to get
the master plan up and running. I further thank the members of the women’s
auxiliary of the hospital who made me very welcome on the day; being in their
company was very enjoyable.
I thank the staff and the support staff of the Western District
Health Service for the very hard work they do not just in Coleraine but in the
surrounding areas, and I commend this report to the house.