By Casey Neill
Healesville campaigners are still pushing for maternity services to return to Healesville Hospital.
But Save Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG) is shaking up its name to better reflect its purpose.
Services for Healesville Action Group – still SHAG – will keep pushing for the hospital to offer the medical services that will best serve the community.
Campaigner Jane Judd explained that the situation was very different when the group formed seven years ago.
In 2012, the Healesville Hospital was dilapidated and needed investment and word had just broken that maternity services were closing.
“At that point there was concern about what that meant for the young women in town,” Ms Judd said.
“It was decided that we should look at the clinical services plan that Eastern Health had just released.
“When we read that we were very alarmed.
“A lot of services were going to be turned off.
“We were able through community action to change the future that was in that document as a draft.”
SHHAG set about informing the community and encouraging people to make their voice heard.
“Suddenly the issue of ‘do we need to save this hospital?’ had a real feel to it,” Ms Judd said.
The group organised and sent 3000 postcards to the Premier and collected tens of thousands of signatures on petitions, and Eastern Health relented.
“Not on maternity, they’d already put in motion,” Ms Judd said.
“But we were able to encourage them to keep the operating theatre open.
“Originally the plan was to move it down to Lilydale.”
Instead, a $10 million renovation took place.
“Once that building work was committed we felt more confident that the hospital would remain,” Ms Judd said.
“Then the issue for us became what services were offered at the hospital.”
That remains the push today.
“A building needs to be delivering the services a community needs,” Ms Judd said.
A maternity service for low-risk births remains top priority, followed by round-the-clock urgent care.
“The other thing we know the community has asked for is an expansion of surgical procedures,” she said.
“Services won’t expand unless there’s a perceived demand.
“The demand starts with the GP and the patient having a conversation about ‘where’s the closest most accessible place I can safely have it?’”
She said SHHAG had been successful in collaborating with Eastern Health to extend an after-hours GP service at the hospital.
“We’re really happy about that,” she said.
Ms Judd explained that trained nurses were on-hand to screen patients who presented, call in a GP when necessary or admit a patient.
There were 3881 after-hours GP attendances in 2018, with 5.4 per cent referred to an emergency department.
“We think that number is fantastic and we totally commend Eastern Health on accepting an extension of the after-hours GP service,” she said.
“The value to the community is demonstrated in those numbers.”
Ms Judd stressed that it was not financially viable to offer an emergency department.
“We’re realists,” she said.
