9th February 2021

Feedback from staff and community members has encouraged the Boards of CHIRP Community Health and Castlemaine Health to continue development of a plan for the integration of community services.

The priority of the Boards is to ensure the continued provision of accessible and responsive community health services for local communities. To support this, the Boards have invited wide community input.

Last year, CHIRP Community Health and Castlemaine Health sought feedback from staff and community members across Mount Alexander Shire on the future of local community health and services and the possible integration of their programs and services.

Some of the key points of the initial feedback include:

·         The importance of retaining all local community health services and programs;

·         The need to ensure that services and programs are easily accessible for all (in terms of physical access, clear information being available, and a warm and welcoming environment); and

·         Staff and community would like to have more opportunities to stay involved in designing future community health services and programs.

The full engagement report can be found here: Engagement Insights Report

Using feedback provided by staff and community members, a detailed plan for integration is now being developed. It will consider the governance, financial, service, human resource and legal aspects.

CHIRP and Castlemaine Health would like to thank everyone who has shared their views so far and look forward to continuing to work with staff and the community to develop the best possible integrated services for the community.