Grampians Health was formed on November 1 with the amalgamation of Ballarat Health Services, Edenhope and District Memorial Hospital, Stawell Regional Health, and Wimmera Health Care Group in to one service.

After the appointment of Dale Fraser as Grampian Health chief executive last week, a position he has held in an interim capacity since November, one of the next steps is creating the community groups.

"Our next steps for moving Grampians Health forward include understanding how we can improve the health system and deliver more services closer to home, particularly in Edenhope, Stawell, Horsham and Dimboola. This will reduce the number of people travelling for care and ensure patients can remain close to their support networks and their own familiar environment," Mr Fraser said.

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"We are also recruiting for community representatives to be on our Community Reference Groups across Horsham, Dimboola, Stawell, Edenhope and Ballarat. These groups will provide a consumer voice to ensure our services are tailored to meet community needs.

An extensive planning exercise is underway both on the strategic plan for the organisation and the clinical needs of the community.

"For the strategic and clinical services planning to be successful, we are looking to our staff and community to actively participate in a series of virtual and face-to-face opportunities over the coming months to provide input on what you see as your health priorities, both in the short term and the long term," Mr Fraser said.

Anyone interested can visit www.grampianshealth.org.au to register.

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