Editorial: If hospital mergers are inevitable, what about this for a plan?

Yet the south-west, in government eyes, doesn't have its own identity. When it comes to statistics and bureaucracy we often fall into the Barwon South West region for education, homelessness and health and fails to give us a true picture of our patch. Barwon, which of course is the rapidly expanding Geelong and the Surf Coast, is a long way geographically, socially and economically from Warrnambool, Hamilton and Portland.

As we have reported extensively, a state government appointed committee has been reviewing health services and hospitals across Victoria. We have revealed the number of health services is likely to be cut from 76 to 12, six metropolitan and six regional groups.

The widely-held view is Warrnambool's South West Healthcare, the epi-centre for the region's hospitals and healthcare services, will be merged with Geelong's Barwon Health. Some would argue it makes sense because Barwon Health is a referral centre for South West Healthcare.

Former Victorian Premier Denis Napthine, a long-time Port Fairy resident, this week called for the community to fight until the end to save the region's hospitals and health services from mergers. His comments came a week after South West Coast MP Roma Britnell called on the government to come clean on its plan. The government says its health services plan is under review and reportedly the plan is sitting on Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas' desk.

Instead of the government and health department officials continuing to look at the south-west as an extension of Geelong, we would argue, if we have to have mergers, this is the right time to re-think our place on the map.

Is Geelong really a regional city these days? It has grown so much, we would argue it should be considered metropolitan, a bit like the Mornington Peninsula. Barwon Health could cover a region including the booming western suburbs of Werribee, Geelong and the surf coast. That would leave Warrnambool's South West Healthcare as the hub for our region, after all, that's what it was intended to be and is considered a sub-regional . It already handles supplies and laundry for all the region's hospitals and health services, it has a cancer centre across the road that caters for not only the south-west but the south-east of South Australia. It is already a regional hub and extending its reach to Portland, Hamilton and towards Colac makes sense.

Next week a delegation of south-west leaders and businesses will converge on state parliament to spread the region's word. They will no doubt be arguing for a greater, fairer, share of government funds. It's the type of action we need from our leaders because we have been left behind for years. The talk of hospital mergers gives us an opportunity to fulfil the region's destiny as a true hub. Next week's delegation also gives us the chance to ram home the point - the south-west is a strong, united region that deserves to stand alone. This is the time to change how we are viewed.