The tender for the Casey Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) has been released, it specifies “in Lilydale” unlike the Nillumbik tender which is not prescriptive regarding the location offering “Diamond Creek and Surrounds”.
The Eastern Health chief executive officer (CEO) advised Services for Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG, formerly Save Healesville Hospital Action Group) that Eastern Health would attended the online briefing on 27 August to “inform their way forward”.
The Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (EMPHN) has determined the prescribed location using a lens of population not health equality.
Investing more health infrastructure in the urban area of Yarra Ranges Council, does nothing to address the “postcode health lottery” which describes the poorer health outcomes faced in the rural rump of the Yarra Ranges Council.
For over a decade, SHHAG have advocated first and foremost, for an urgent care facility along with other critical services in Healesville.
Our unwavering focus has seen us win a grant to develop an evidence-based business case, meet with the CEOs and Board of Eastern Health on numerous occasions and meet with Ministers, State and Federal politicians and most importantly with community many, many times.
So, as you can imagine, whilst we have had many wins in the past, we are devastated with the confirmation that the urgent care facility coming to Yarra Ranges will not be located in Healesville or the Yarra Valley as everyone has advocated for.
Yarra Ranges Council has been clear that this was their preference too.
Our position has always been and remains that everyone who lives in or visits Healesville and the Yarra Valley deserves and needs access to urgent care locally.
Data supports this approach; research supports this approach and community loudly support this approach.
It is not simply about locating services where more people live, in fact when those people can already access services easily or even locally, the population argument doesn’t stack up.
What is the most important consideration is locating services where there is a gap and we certainly have that.
Travel to urgent care, even if in Lilydale, takes time and isn’t possible for many especially with our limited public transport.
We have a large catchment and millions of tourists, all who need to be able to access urgent care in the Valley.
We thank all who have supported us so far, for the support of Yarra Ranges Council and in particular the CEO Tammi Rose who has met with politicians, Eastern Health, the Primary Health Network and advocated tirelessly for urgent care to be located in Healesville.
To Aaron Violi for his support and advocacy and most importantly to everyone in our wonderful community who have made their voices heard.
We are not sure what this means for SHHAG moving forward – it has been a long 12 years with much achieved but this has knocked us for six.
Dr Stephen Duckett, chair of the EMPHN Board is an eminent healthcare leader I admire greatly.
Stephen authored The Australian Health Care System, now in its fifth edition.
Stephen’s book was and remains the core text to earn a fellowship from the Australasian College of Health Service Management, as I did in 2014.
Stephen has successfully argued for the need to transform the primary health care system, and UCCs are part of that transformation.
Primary care is no longer treated like the poor cousin of the acute health services.
The EMPHN funded the afterhours GP services at the Healesville Hospital.
They know there is a need. Let’s hope they expand that clinic.
We have read the tender, everything an UCC needs to provide under the tender (TRF) is already at Healesville Hospital.
The land is already owned. Let’s hope the case to support the rural rump with an UCC is not a closed door.
