As a leading provider of healthcare across the Timboon and District region, we’re dedicated to ensuring all residents can enjoy the highest possible quality of life. Your opinion and experience are at the heart of this, so we literally cannot do it without you.

Your voice has helped before. Many years ago, Timboon and District did not have a health service but the efforts and tireless work of people in and around the district led to our establishment in 1955.

TDHS currently provides a range of services as described below.

• Urgent Care: Our Urgent Care Centre provides a 24/7/365 treatment to the community for medical emergencies. Urgent Care is delivered through a nurse assessment (triage) led model supported by on-call medical staff. TDHS has a radiologist onsite one day per week.
• Acute Care (in-patient): TDHS provides high-quality acute care services through our experienced and professional team. We provide 10 beds for acute services including respite, palliative, and rehabilitative care.
• Aged Care (residential): Members of the community who are unable to remain in their homes due to health or mobility issues can receive 24-hour professional care in our aged care facility which comprises of 4 aged care beds.
• Community Care: We offer Community Care to eligible people who need assistance including delivered meals, domestic assistance, home maintenance, and personal care.
• Community Nursing: TDHS provides community-based nursing services to support people to stay at home and prevent health service admission. These services are, generally, short-term in nature and include services like wound care, medication management, and diabetes education.
• Allied Health: We work with allied health professionals to provide a broad range of services to support rehabilitation and disease management. This includes treatment of acute conditions and management of chronic conditions whether at the health service, or in the community.
• Timboon Clinic: General Practice care is provided by TDHS through the Timboon Clinic which was acquired in April 2021. The clinic is open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.
• Mental Health and Wellbeing: TDHS serves our communities wellbeing needs through a health promotion officer, social worker, and allied health services including physical activity and social support groups. The Timboon Clinic offers a child psychologist service. Where appropriate we support people with referrals to health services that offer specialist Mental Health services.

A Strategic Service Plan has been prepared for TDHS which, based on analysis of health and demographic data, identified the key health issues, needs and conditions for people living in TDHS catchment.

• Chronic Diseases and Obesity
• Smoking, poor nutrition, alcohol consumption, and low rates of physical activity
• Cancer and Heart Disease
• Health needs of an ageing population
• Mental Health and Wellbeing
• GP attendances below Victorian rates
• Allied health professionals are in high demand and there is limited availability

TDHS provides services within the southern portion of Corangamite Shire and the south-eastern section of Moyne Shire. This catchment stretches from Cobden in the north to the Great Ocean Road coastline, encompassing the towns of Timboon, Cobden, Nullawarre, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Princetown, Simpson and the tourist sites of the Twelve Apostles.

The resident population of this catchment area is approximately 7,700 people. Residents are engaged in a wide range of employment, with most engaged in primary industries, particularly the dairy industry, and tourism.

Compared to the rest of Victoria and Australia, the TDHS catchment has a higher proportion of young people aged 0-14, a higher proportion of people aged 45-59, and is less diverse.

In addition to permanent residents, approximately 2.5 million tourists visit the 12 Apostles and Port Campbell each year, impacting significantly on TDHS urgent care services.

The Strategic Plan will consider all aspects of the health service including:

• The healthcare needs of people who live, work, and visit our catchment now and in the future
• The role of TDHS in the broader healthcare system in servicing those needs
• Our relationship to other health services and healthcare providers
• Current and emerging best practice healthcare approaches
• Government health policy, strategy, regulations, and funding models.

We are consulting with the following people and groups:

• Everyone who lives in our catchment – approx. 30km radius from Timboon
• Community Organisations, Business, and Industry in our catchment
• Community partners including Corangamite Shire Council and Timboon P-12 School
• TDHS Workforce including staff, contractors, and volunteers
• TDHS Consumer Advisory Committee and Medical Consultation Committee
• Regional Health Services
• The Victorian Department of Health

The TDHS Board of Directors endorses the TDHS Strategic Plan to the Victorian Minister of Health for approval.

Proposed improvements in our next Strategic Plan must be funded by TDHS. As part of the setting the annual budget the TDHS Board of Directors will consider TDHS’ financial capacity to invest in improvements.

Specific initiatives are occasionally supported through generous contributions from the community, business, and philanthropic organisations, without which they may not have been able to proceed.

A Multi-Purpose Service (MPS) is an integrated health and aged care service delivery model provided by one service provider for rural communities within a designated area. Current services provided by an MPS may include but are not limited to Hospital, nursing home, hostel/lodge, home and community care (HACC), child health, community health, allied health and other health services which may change from time to time.

The Multi-Purpose Services Program combines funding for aged care services from the Australian Government with state and territory health services. This joint initiative means small regional and remote communities can offer flexible services that meet the needs of their community.

Timboon & District Healthcare Service is predominantly funded by grant funding from the Victorian State and Commonwealth Governments for the provision of outputs. Timboon & District Healthcare Service also receives income from the supply of services. Community donations contribute to specific one-off initiatives from time to time such as the recent purchase of a Community Transport Bus.

As an MPS, Governments require that TDHS provide integrated health and aged care services to its catchment communities that is consistent with clinical capability and integrally linked to the broader service delivery system.

Integrated care aims to link services by overcoming barriers between primary and secondary care, physical and mental health care, and health and social care, so that consumers receive comprehensive or holistic care when and where they need it.

As an MPS, TDHS provides a range of services that span primary and secondary care and across the age spectrum for both community and residential (inpatient) care.

As in many rural communities, TDHS as the health service is a key employer, a partner within the broader network of social services including the Shire, other health and community service providers and the school.

TDHS serves not just to deliver quality care, but to improve the patient experience and population health and wellbeing of the community.

Strong and effective partnerships provide the basis for providing integrated health care. Integration in this context refers to seamless care, or care that enhances the patient journey in an increasingly complex, and often fragmented system. However, in rural and regional communities, effective and valued partnerships extend beyond health system due in part to necessity but more importantly, because health services are often the cornerstone of rural communities. There are two key areas of partnerships for TDHS – Regional Partnerships and Community Partnerships.

As a small health service, it is important for TDHS to have strong partnerships with the regional and sub-regional health services, the RFDS, the PHN and the network of local health services within the catchment. Effective coordination of service delivery can enhance the quality of services to the consumer, as well as offer benefits to service providers. Benefits include more efficient use of resources, workforce development and placement opportunities and improved working relationships.

Community partnerships go beyond this to encompass the intersectoral relationships with the range of organisations including Timboon P-12 School, the Timboon Men’s Shed, Corangamite Shire and other community groups that can be engaged in embracing a population health approach to health and wellbeing to benefit the whole community.