These consultations have been an opportunity for residents to share their experiences with the health service, as well as look to its future.
The first of two drop-in sessions was held at Cafe Rochester on Wednesday, May 7, with locals heading in for a chat with REDHS chief executive Mary Manescu and community care director Mebin Baby.
Areas Ms Manescu felt were talking points included residential aged care; home support; staff recruitment and retention; regional partnerships with neighbouring health services; and diverse program opportunities.
“There seems to still be a high interest on residential aged care and a little bit of a concern around (questions like) do we have capacity and how costly it is,” she said.
“We could do a bit more in terms of the education, about fees and service access for aged care.
“Home support is a big piece and we're trying to scale that even more... we have 350 to 400 across two funding streams.”
The REDHS is looking to learn more about the community’s feelings towards relationships with Bendigo Health and Echuca Regional Health.
“We want to know two things, so far what’s the regional partnership kind of lens to the future of the service,” Ms Manescu said.
“We’re looking at both clinical and non-clinical.
“But we also want to know from the community, what’s the interest when they think about us working in partnership with others?”
Looking at their offerings, the team is also curious about the demand for allied health services, along with specialised programs.
This includes a drug and alcohol support program that formerly ran on-site at REDHS.
“It was a detox program from alcohol and drugs,” Ms Manescu said.
“We were leading in the in-patient space because we had a GP with these skills — and we still do — and we used to have a mental health worker.
“We have just recruited an registered nurse that has experience in mental health and detox.
“So we think that program we would probably take on.”
The strategic plan will be based on the feedback provided from the drop-in sessions, along with a survey created to help shape the plan.
It asks residents about access to services, REDHS’ strengths, risks, areas of priority and communication.
A second community drop-in session is set for Tuesday, May 13 at Elmore Community Hub, from 9am to noon.
The strategic planning community survey is open until this Friday, May 16, and can be accessed at tinyurl.com/REDHSplanningsurvey
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