In part two of Ballarat Unmasked, the city's health leaders share their lessons from 2020.

SEE PART ONE HERE.

What has a tough year like 2020 taught us about our city?

The commitment to healthy lifestyle. The vast majority of people in Ballarat did what was needed, even at times when it didn't make a lot of logic.

In rural settings it might have been less obvious, but in Ballarat you could see the effort and that now suggested it has worked.

What in your mind was the standout effort during 2020?

The standout effort for me, certainly in health, was in continuing to deliver services, from primary care, mental health, alcohol and other drugs and some chronic disease care. We have had to completely transform services. The majority of services have not stopped, albeit they have looked very different,

We support a lot of people with chronic conditions and we support a lot of people with enduring and complex mental health conditions - those services could not stop during a pandemic. We needed to innovate otherwise a large section of the community would realise other big health problems.

Will Ballarat be a better place after the pandemic, how?

Yes. From what I've seen, perhaps the more concentrated effort in supporting local and the notion of what is considered local is a real passion for many now.

There have also been some things about Ballarat we have otherwise taken for granted in open spaces and exercise and the social determinants of health in access to education, employment, basic fundamentals to good health. Ballarat affords us that:good education, good health, and we don't have the extreme unemployment levels of other places but it is still a concern.

Ballarat allows us to social distance without too much trouble. There is space like rural areas but, as this city continues to grow and develop, space allows us to expand without losing this. We do not have to be living on top of each other.

What would you like to see retained from the pandemic and built on in 2021?

A continuation to innovate in terms of the ways we deliver services. In health, this includes utilising telehealth and a mix of other methods to reach people.

I know there have been extensive waiting lists and cancellations, like in elective surgery, but this is an opportunity to continue to do some services differently.

Also to continue to have a better work-life balance. Of course there was absolute frustration in continually being stuck at home but we became more aware of balance. A good work-life balance is an essential ingredient for mental health and well-being. These are social determinants for good health going into the future.

What has a tough year like 2020 taught us about our city?

Ballarat is resilient, adaptable and genuinely community minded in the face of adversity. It has been so pleasing to see the care that leaders and volunteers across all sports and recreation groups within Ballarat and the wider region have shown for their members.

During the early stages of the year Sports Central's conversations with clubs reinforced just how important their member's welfare was to them during the lockdown. Many clubs were expressing concern over the impact that a lack of sport would have on their community, beyond just those directly involved in the matches. How would their supporters and families stay connected? This clearly demonstrates the positive ripple effect that our community sporting leagues, clubs and programs have across our town.

This year has reinforced that sport needs to be ready and willing to change and adapt to stay relevant, whether it is in the face of a pandemic or based on the rapidly changing way that we live our lives. The marketplace for people of all ages to spend their recreation time has never been more crowded and more challenging for our sports to navigate. How sport and recreation presents flexible and engaging options in the 'new normal' will shape its success beyond 2020.

What in your mind was the standout effort during 2020?

Many great professionals in the sports industry lost their jobs throughout this year, great people with a real passion for what they do. The way that our grassroots workforce of volunteers stepped up in their absence is a credit to the calibre and commitment of the people we have involved in our leagues, clubs and groups locally. We are incredibly lucky in Ballarat and across the Central Highlands to have such a variety of sports to choose from.

This continues to be held up by the largely volunteer workforce. It has never been more important for our clubs to recognise and support their people. The tireless effort that our community put in to get junior sport (in particular) back as quickly and as safely as possible was a real highlight. This wasn't always easy with the requirements placed on coaches and volunteers to ensure a safe competition and games return to play. Sport and active lifestyles are so important for our young people, whether it is for health and wellbeing or personal growth and development. These experiences help shape them.

Will Ballarat be a better place after the pandemic, how?

Yes, 2020 has in many ways reshaped our perspective on who we are, what we value and how we live our lives. For many of us, the people we connect with and experiences we have on a weekly basis through sport and active recreation are so valuable and I expect that our community now has a greater appreciation for just how important community sport is to them, their family and friends.

Sport and recreation has adapted rapidly to the challenges they have faced. Local leagues and clubs have taken stock, considered what a sustainable future looks like for them and many have worked to get their house in order to launch into a strong and bright future. We have seen work done to reinvent governance and competition structures. Strategic and business planning has been conducted and clubs have identified the need to fast track inclusion for their sport. We have been excited to partner with leaders such as North Ballarat Cricket Club who have launched the All Abilities Cricket team for people with a disability and Ballarat City Football Club who have participated in the Act@Play program promoting gender equality across their entire club.

What would you like to see retained from the pandemic and built on in 2021?

People have found new ways to stay active and many have found new tribes. Active recreation experienced an unprecedented surge in popularity as people sought new and flexible ways to stay active and to achieve personal goals. Workplaces were open minded in their approach to keep their staff healthy and active. New offerings emerged and have continued to flourish as the lockdown has eased. People found new tribes to connect with in different ways, for example, this year the Daughters of the West program was delivered online for the first time and the Ballarat participants remain connected in person with a regular walking group. For those who found something new during 2020, I encourage them to keep it up.

Local sports leaders have demonstrated a willingness to innovate to achieve the best outcome for their teams and players. Whether it be new competitions, modified rules, shorter and more flexible formats this has allowed for people to return in the sport and has allowed the sports to remain nimble at a time where flexibility is important. This open mindedness will present many exciting opportunities across all sports into the future. Being prepared to reflect the needs of members and the wider trends that our community is experiencing will allow sports and local competitions to remain as attractive to new and existing participants as ever before.

What has a tough year like 2020 taught us about our city?

It has reaffirmed for me the resilience and compassion that our city has. Ballarat has had the lowest number of confirmed cases out of the major regional centres, this is despite the western corridor of Melbourne having some of the highest numbers of confirmed cases. Our case numbers are a direct result of the responsibility and care shown by the people of Ballarat.

The overwhelming generosity of our community to donate goods to those in need and to look out for these who were struggling with social isolation or to take your health and the health of those around you seriously and get tested. These acts have made a huge difference and were key factors in convincing the state to allow more freedoms in regional Victoria when compared to metropolitan Melbourne.

What in your mind was the standout effort during 2020?

The standout effort for me has been the community response to being tested. Since March the testing services in Ballarat have completed more than 48,000 COVID tests, more than 220 tests each and every day, and covering almost half the entire population of Ballarat. Not only did the public respond, but the Ballarat team of testers, be they the team at UFS, or Ballarat Community Health or the Ballarat Health Services team, have really stepped up to create testing solutions at very short notice and often in locations not normally associated with health care.

Testing has been vital to then enable our local contact tracing team to identify positive cases and manage their care and those around them safely, quickly and effectively. Throughout the entire pandemic, the Ballarat Health Services infectious diseases specialists and contact tracing team have stepped up to manage local cases, without delay and with the certainty of local people knowing local conditions. This approach, matched by other regional centres, led ultimately to a change in the approach to metropolitan contact tracing and patient management.

The model successfully established here and regional Victoria, is now the model for the state.

On another front, the response of the Ballarat Health Services Aged Care program to stop and contain an outbreak within one of our services, without loss of life, stands in stark contrast to sad events from private aged care services. This outcome highlights the connectedness of our health services, to firstly have dedicated trained and qualified clinical staff on every shift within our services, and then to have the immediate back up of infectious diseases specialists to successfully manage the outbreak.

Will Ballarat be a better place after the pandemic, how?

Ballarat is a place of opportunity after the pandemic. How this opportunity is realised will determine whether we are better or not. With the right leadership and investment, the potential for Ballarat is enormous, but only if we are prepared to seek and embrace change. COVID has abruptly forced change on us; as we return to a post COVID normal we have the opportunity to take the lessons of COVID and apply them to our new endeavours in a way to ensure a sustained future for our city.

What would you like to see retained from the pandemic and built on in 2021?

On a health care front, the communities greater interest in hand hygiene and cold and flu symptom management has substantially reduced the number of people getting sick enough to present to hospital for influenza conditions. Increased awareness of the search for a COVID vaccine, will I hope, also translate to more of our community receiving the annual influenza vaccine to continue to reduce the community effects of annual influenza outbreaks.

What has a tough year like 2020 taught us about our city?

Our city, and our region, is resilient and understands the concept of looking out for each other. This year we have shown that we all need to support each other, and our actions (self-isolating, getting tested, minimising our travel) needed to demonstrate proactive steps in that support and solidarity.

What in your mind was the standout effort during 2020?

As above, this is the standout effort, everyone in it together, working together, and for each other. A great result for our people by our people.

Will Ballarat be a better place after the pandemic, how?

Well, call me cautious but the pandemic is not over. We need to remain vigilant and continue to follow the 'COVID-normal' rules. Until we have an adequate vaccination program, the pandemic is not over in my mind. Having said that, I think we can be confident in each other, and if that makes us better, then yes.

What would you like to see retained from the pandemic and built on in 2021?

Solidarity and togetherness are important qualities. The compassion people show each other is a cornerstone of our community and society at large. Everyday we see great acts of compassion.. celebrating those acts by calling them out and reinforcing the positivity compassion brings is something to build upon.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.