State appoints board monitor at cohealth

The Victorian Government has appointed a board monitor to cohealth following a damning independent review that found the embattled community health provider needed to rebuild confidence and restore community trust.

Health Minister Harriet Shing announced on July 24 that Chris Altis would serve as board monitor for an initial 12-month term, with responsibility for overseeing decision-making and supporting the board’s ongoing development and effectiveness.

Mr Altis has 30 years’ experience in the health sector, having worked in policy and advisory roles in Victoria and nationally. He is currently a non-executive director at the Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and William Angliss Institute.

As board monitor, he will attend all cohealth board and committee meetings as an independent observer and report directly to the Victorian Government.

The appointment follows an independent review into cohealth’s general practice service model, governance and finances, released in June after months of community backlash over the organisation’s decision to close its GP clinics in Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington (pictured below).

The review found the clinics were operating at a loss, but rejected cohealth’s repeated public argument that Medicare funding was the main cause of the problem. Instead, it found ineffective governance and management had also contributed significantly to the organisation’s financial problems.

It also said there was “limited confidence” that the cohealth board would engage with or correct the underlying issues, and recommended stronger oversight, board renewal and clearer performance targets.

Ms Shing said the appointment of Mr Altis represented “a turning point for cohealth”.

“It is an important opportunity for cohealth to demonstrate integrity, transparency, and accountability,” Ms Shing said.

Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said strong governance was essential to ensuring cohealth could continue supporting vulnerable people.

“It’s important cohealth has strong governance so it can continue to support some of the most vulnerable people in our community – delivering the care and support they deserve,” Ms Stitt said.

The Victorian and Federal Governments have continued working with cohealth since the review, with the state government saying the focus remained on delivering safe and sustainable primary care for vulnerable Victorians.

The government said it provided more than $68 million to cohealth for a range of services in the past year.

Community campaign group Save Our Community Health, which has been calling for major governance change, has remained deeply critical of cohealth’s response to the review.

In a recent statement, the group said cohealth’s apology to clients and staff did not go far enough, arguing the organisation had acknowledged process failings but had not properly confronted the substance of its decisions or the governance failures identified in the review.

The group said “actions are louder than words” and called on the Victorian Health Minister to use her powers to protect community health services in Melbourne.