The Minister for Health, the Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas, has just announced the establishment of 12 Local Health Service Networks (LHSNs) in Victoria, to come into effect from 1 July 2025.
The Network configuration and groupings within each LHSN is a decision of the Minister for Health and is based on grouping health services in geographical regions taking into account things such as patient and community flows, transport routes and other factors including population growth forecasts, community need, clinical capability and the distance between health services.
Seymour Health (SH), located in the northern growth corridor and the fastest growing region in Victoria, with the vast majority of patient flows going to Northern Health, has been designated a member of the North Metro & Mitchell LHSN along with Northern Health, Austin Health and Mercy Hospital for Women. The groupings of all 12 Local Health Service Network is available on the Department of Health website. An information sheet for the community from the Department of Health is available here.
What does this mean for Seymour Health and the community?
- SH will continue to be managed locally and will retain its own name and identity. This is not an amalgamation or merger, it is a partnership
- SH will retain its own Board and Leadership team
- SH will not close. No hospital or health service will close as a result of the introduction of LHSNs
- The introduction of the new LHSN structure represents opportunity for SH to enhance capability and expand services locally
The Governance structure and priorities for the new LHSNs will be developed over coming months to guide the transition to the new partnerships when they commence on 1 July 2025. A key deliverable will be improved equity of access to safe quality care for our community closer to home and improved access to more complex care through clearer referral pathways with each Network having key partnerships and arrangements for Specialist care with a major tertiary hospital, a Women’s hospital and a Children’s hospital.
The establishment of the LHSNs represents significant opportunity for better access to healthcare locally for the Seymour community. It will enhance local capability and broaden the range of services available locally delivered in partnership with the other health services in our LHSN. There will be opportunities to gain better access to specialist and subacute services locally, better coordination of clinical care, potential to attract and retain workforce, shared educational opportunities and potential to better support our local GPs in the delivery of a sustainable medical model of care. The potential to leverage off common ICT platforms to improve the transfer of patient information is significant and will be realised over time providing a safer more efficient healthcare system for our community that is easier to navigate.
As with any change there will be challenges and obstacles to overcome, however the longer-term benefits for our community and our health service will be significant and I encourage all community members to embrace these changes as we position SH to capitalise on the opportunities the new LHSNs present.
Ward Steet
Chief Executive Officer