Hands Off Our Hospital
Published on 23 May 2024
On behalf of the community, Council is saying no to the amalgamation of our hospital service.
Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said Mansfield had a strong history of fighting amalgamations and it was time for the community to take a stand against any proposed amalgamation.
“We don’t want to be swallowed up into a large network of hospitals that have no relevancy here to our local community,” said Cr Rabie.
“Leaked documents reveal that there is a threat that we would lose our chief executive and local board and have them replaced by an advisory board that sits out in Shepparton, making decisions about our services. A board of people who have never stepped foot in Mansfield Shire could have the right to can our most basic health services if they see fit.
“The hospital is the lifeblood of our community and has been in service since 1871. That is 153 years of trustworthy service that will be thrown away in the name of state budget cuts.
“This merger, shrouded in secrecy, has our community bewildered. In rural areas, such as in the Grampians, hospital mergers have been tried and have failed.
“In the year 2002, our own local government de-amalgamated after a disastrous merger in 1994. We’ve ‘been there, done that’ and we know that our community thrives independently.
“Since our de-amalgamation, Mansfield Shire has continued to grow and prosper, with continued investment in services and health. We look after each other here, and we look after those who visit us. With 10,000 people here and up to 20,000 a day up on Buller, our hospital service needs to be strong and it needs to cater for our specific needs.
“We have full confidence in the current CEO and board to continue to provide the excellence in healthcare management that our community is accustomed to.
“The people best placed to support our local needs are local people. We must continue to protect what we have built here and defend our healthcare service.
“Council is impressed by the advocacy of our local health providers, who have taken a strong stance against this and have mobilised our community to have their say in a massive community meeting on 15 June 2024 at 11.00 am.
“We will have key decision makers and voices there to support our right to operate independently and not lose our local skill, local knowledge and local care.
“As a community, we need to come together and stand with our local health providers and say ‘hands off our hospital’.”