I rise to make a statement on the Lorne Community Hospital annual report
2007-08. I would like to begin by saying that the Lorne Community Hospital does
an absolutely marvellous job servicing the health needs of residents in Lorne
and surrounding areas, and visitors to the area during the lead-up to the
Christmas break and the Christmas break itself.
It should be noted that Lorne is a tightly knit community, as I
mentioned in my 90-second statement today. It has under 1000 permanent
residents, but during the summer months Lorne and the Lorne Community Hospital
must deal with a huge influx of people to the area. As I said, this is mainly
due to holiday-makers visiting the area and patrons and participants in various
recreational events in the area.
It is timely to make a statement on this report because in just
a few weeks schoolies will inundate Lorne, flock to Lorne, as they have done for
many years to celebrate the completion of their school years. We will see music
lovers travelling to Lorne for the annual Falls Festival on New Year’s Eve. Many
people participate in the Lorne Pier to Pub swimming contest. We see a number of
beachgoers and holiday-makers all through that period.
The chief executive officer of the Lorne Community Hospital,
Janelle Bryce, describes it very well in her report when she states:
- On occasions throughout the year it felt we were juggling far more
challenges than our small team could handle, however, the strength of our
dedicated staff is coined in the saying ‘when the going gets tough the tough get
going’!
I recently attended a Lorne community impact advisory committee
meeting which was also attended by representatives from the Lorne Community
Hospital, the Victorian State Emergency Service, the Country Fire Authority,
police, youth workers, Lions club representatives and business leaders. That
community group comes together to deal with a range of issues, but in particular
on the occasion I was there it was dealing with the influx of schoolies and how
the community can best prepare itself for the overall influx of the population
over the summer months. It is testimony to the local community that they have a
well-coordinated approach across a range of services to handle the influx of
people. It is through these partnerships with the community that the Lorne
Community Hospital is able to succeed when it is up against its greatest
challenges.
During the reporting period the hospital worked closely with
paramedics to ensure that both services can provide an optimal emergency
response after hours. The hospital also created safe driving tips for the Great
Ocean Road brochure, which is a collaborative initiative with a number of
stakeholders, including Roadsafe Barwon, Victoria Police, the Colac Otway and
Surf Coast shires. The brochure is funded by the Transport Accident Commission.
Over 40 000 copies were distributed across local government areas.
The hospital also collaborates with a wide range of
stakeholders with the Schoolies Down South program for schoolies week to provide
safety and support networks for young school leavers. It is also involved with
the Aireys Inlet P-12 school’s years 5 and 9 sexual health education in schools
program. Apart from those projects, the hospital enjoys a high level of client
satisfaction across a wide range of services from primary care, acute care to
residential aged care.
The theme that rings true when reading the Lorne Community
Hospital report is the impressive and imperative role that the hospital plays in
the wider community. I congratulate and thank all those involved, including
Janelle Bryce, board members, all staff and all members of the community who
contributed $1 or more for that great community bus. The Lorne community raised
$63 000 from their own pockets to ensure that the Lorne hospital has a wonderful
transport facility for its patients.
Thank you and congratulations to all. You have served a
wonderful community well for a long period of time.