THE North West Hospital and Health Service (HHS) has taken over local ownership of its health-related properties in the region.
North West HHS board chairperson Paul Woodhouse said the transfer from the Department of Health to local control of all health service land and buildings in the region became effective from July 1.
He said the total value of land and property transferred to North West HHS ownership was about $214.4 million.
“We will now be fully responsible for assessing and deciding upon our future infrastructure needs and we will be able to do so according to our own priorities and in response to our communities’ needs,’’ Mr Woodhouse said.
“Obviously, any requests for additional funding for such projects will still need to be put forward for inclusion and consideration in the state government’s overall future capital works programs,” he said.
“But it will be the health service that will make the final decision as to which projects are put forward for consideration as part of that capital works program.
“We will be able to decide locally what we need to do to meet our communities’ expectations in terms of future health facilities.’’
Mr Woodhouse said responsibility for employees had already been transferred from the Department of Health to the North West HHS on July 1, 2014.
“The transfer of land and property ownership from the department to the health service marks the final step to full community control of locally delivered health services.
‘‘This is a great step forward for health services as the decision-making process continues to return to a grass roots level.
“The creation of the locally controlled hospital and health service boards on July 1, 2012, marked the start of a new era for health service delivery in Queensland.
“With the creation of the boards, the state government recognised that decision-making about the delivery of health services to local communities was best made at the local level.
“Local decision-making ensures we are better able to identify and meet the needs of our community.’’
Mr Woodhouse said the transfer of employee responsibilities from the department to the health service last year was already paying dividends.
“The Director-General of the Department of Health remains responsible for setting basic state-wide conditions of employment.
“However, the transfer of direct responsibility for our own employees to our health service has given us greater flexibility to offer terms that better reflect local conditions.
“This has allowed us to improve our recruitment and retention of staff, which is absolutely vital for our region because our health service is only as good as our staff who will always be our most important asset.’’
Mr Woodhouse said the transfer to the North West HHS of responsibility for employees last year and land and buildings this year did not directly affect how healthcare was delivered locally.
“But these changes do give us greater freedom to make and be responsible for our own decisions.”
