A clinical governance plan turned around this regional health service
Engagement with staff and consumers has been central to the plan's success at Central Highlands Rural Health.
An innovative clinical governance framework with high-quality patient care at its core has helped a regional Victorian health service transform into one of the most respected small health services in Victoria.
In 2014, Kyneton District Health in Victoria (now Central Highlands Rural Health) was facing financial problems, accreditation hurdles and a crisis in community confidence. Before Maree Cuddihy started as the new CEO, people turned up to the annual general meeting with placards.
‘After I was appointed, I knew I had to rebuild community confidence and properly engage with this breakdown in trust and take full responsibility and accountability – as the new leader,’ Ms Cuddihy says.
In close consultation with consumers and staff, the new leadership team developed a clinical governance framework that prioritised care that was personal, safe, connected and right.
Maree Cuddihy, CEO, Central Highlands Rural Health, Victoria
They backed up this vision with an implementation plan aimed at providing staff with the systems and support they needed to ensure every consumer has a positive experience.
The Best Care Plan
Engagement with staff and consumers is central to the plan’s success. Ms Cuddihy rebuilt trust with the community by establishing a consumer advisory committee, and through regularly talking to community members about their needs.
Staff and clinicians supported the plan because it established an organisational direction they agreed with and simplified clinical governance concepts into language that resonated with them.
‘Previously, clinical governance was seen to be the add-on rather than something that we should be doing all the time to achieve what we set out to achieve in health care,’ Ms Cuddihy says.
‘Now staff can see that things like quality management and workforce management are there in the background to support them. But what we really want them to do is focus on the outcome.’
Continuous improvement
More than 10 years later, the Best Care Plan is embedded across five campuses of Central Highlands Rural Health. The organisation has successfully restored community confidence and staff morale, reversed its budget deficit, and improved quality and safety. Staff are still engaged and proud of the level of care the health service provides.
Ms Cuddihy has been recognised for her leadership, and the health service has won several awards including Victorian Small Health Service of the Year in 2017, and the statewide Award for Excellence in Aged Care in 2024.
Maintaining these advances requires continuous conversations with staff and consumers, Ms Cuddihy says.
‘This is not just a one-off exercise – you just have to continue to talk about it all the time. It won’t naturally happen unless you put mechanisms in place to make sure that it happens.’