Bass Coast Health (BCH) was thrilled to be named the Premier’s Medium Health Service of the Year at the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards in Melbourne on 19 November.
Acting BCH CEO Shaun Brooks said the award was a fabulous achievement for the health service and the community, and a credit to BCH staff and volunteers for their tireless commitment to providing first-class public healthcare.
“The judges noted that while we provide quality care to our community, what set us apart was our strong community partnerships – our desire to involve our community in our activities and to work with them to ensure we’re providing the services they need where possible and bring them along the journey to achieving our service growth aspirations,” he said.
“Our partnerships are vital, and there is no doubt we could not have achieved what we have if we didn’t enjoy the exceptional collaboration and support that we do.”
BCH’s strong organisational purpose and commitment to stay the course during a high demand and high growth period was also a key feature for how the Award was judged.
The Award acknowledged:
• How we enhanced quality and safety and reduced risks to patients through various patient-centred care initiatives
• That we strengthened the capacity of individuals, families and communities through effective prevention and health promotion
• How safety and quality of care shone through as our highest priority and how excellent care was recognised via a series of external accreditation reviews undertaken during the last 12-18 months
• That over this last year, our staff demonstrated their versatility in response to the major storms, outages, and multiple infrastructure and system upgrades
• That we improved the work environment, grew our staff, and maintained the culture where the We Care values guide us to optimise Wellbeing of consumers and staff; deliver Equitable care; lead with Compassion; be Accountable for what we do; Respect each other’s differences; and aim for Excellence.
“I also wish to thank staff and volunteers for the skills, passion and energy they bring to Bass Coast Health, and not only caring for our patients, but also each other,” Mr Brooks said.
BCH was named as one of three finalists in the Medium Health Service of the Year category, alongside Bairnsdale Regional Health Service and Echuca Regional Health.
BCH was also a finalist in the category of ‘Partnering in healthcare’, recognising its clinical collaborative partnership with Alfred Health. That section was won by Austin Health and Swan Hill District Health.