They did not care

SIR, – ‘They consulted, they listened, but they did not care’ are the words the board of Wimmera Health Care Group can be remembered by.

I am deeply disappointed that it seems the only way our local hospitals could move forward was by merging with Ballarat Health Services.

It seems that any of the local hospital boards, nor the Minister for Health, could care about what the community’s opinions are. Granted, it will look like there is a bigger pool of money, but it still has to be spread between five hospitals and the communities they service, after all, our public hospitals are here to provide a service to the people, not to some bureaucrat in Spring Street.

I thank all who either voiced their opinion through the poor consultation process, or in a more public arena to raise awareness of the merger, as for quite some time this merger was going to go through with the community unaware of the pending changes.

I am sure there will be some shortterm benefits to the merger. It is the long-term issues that will arise once Grampians Health starts to look further into business efficiencies, longterm strategic planning and funding allocations.

As displayed in other health-care sectors throughout the country, centralisation of health care causes a bureaucratic nightmare, with the decisions that affect the ‘little guys’ out in the bush, made by someone who might visit once or twice a year, if they are lucky. All I can say to the board of Grampians Health is, ‘don’t forget the little guys and don’t stuff this up’. Robert Letts Horsham