Attendees at the forum will be encouraged to reflect on the successes and sustainability of the state government's Strengthening Hospital Responses to Family Violence initiative.

It has been two years since the program was rolled out in Victorian public hospitals.

More than 28,000 healthcare workers have received training under the program to identify and support patients experiencing family violence.

The training included recognizing the warning signs, responding sensitively and respectfully, and connecting victims to the necessary services.

Bendigo Health was involved in developing the resources, along with the Royal Women's Hospital.

"Family violence and violence against women and children is a dreadful scourge in our community," Peter Faulkner, Bendigo Health's chief executive, said.

"We all have an obligation to do something about it."

Family violence is identified as a factor in about 100 cases each year at Bendigo Health, on average.

But the health care group believes the true figure is likely much higher.

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Mr Faulkner said Bendigo Health was fortunate to have been able to participate and play a leading role in the pilot.

He said the knowledge base was still evolving, more than four years later.

"We learn each and every day about how we might be able to do it better," Mr Faulkner said.

"As an organisation we need to prioritise it."

He said Bendigo Health needed to recognise the importance of the work and resource work that made a difference by educating staff and ensuring the necessary systems and processes were in place.

"Every health worker would say this is a really important issue," Mr Faulkner said.

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Mr Faulkner has a particular appreciation for the importance of the sector's work in this space.

"Our family is just one of many families touched by family violence in the most tragic way," he said.

"Having that personal experience reinforces what a scourge it is... reinforces the need to do something about it."

Mr Faulkner's niece - his sister's eldest daughter - was murdered by her intimate partner in 2015.

Her partner then took his own life.

Mr Faulkner said it was nothing you would want any family, anywhere to ever experience.

"There are many victims, both direct and indirect," Mr Faulkner said.

He reassured anyone who was a victim or affected by family violence that anything shared with the health care group's staff would be treated with the utmost confidence.

"This is not an easy issue," Mr Faulkner said.

He said part of the program was developing confidence and competence in responding to family violence.

Bendigo Health innovation and research director, Dr Angela Crombie said clinicians had previously been scared to ask patients if they were experiencing family violence.

"Health professionals weren't confident to respond to these disclosures."

She said providing tools and training to sensitively inquire about how a patient was feeling at home had helped.

Most of the hospital's staff has received the training.

Dr Crombie said there was a focus on ensuring the model was embedded into the hospital's usual education.

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Today's forum will be the first Bendigo Health has hosted in its home city.

"All too often these activities are metropolitan-based," Mr Faulkner said.

But family violence happened across the population.

The forum's guest speakers will include University of Western Ontario Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children research scholar, Professor Nadine Wathen; Royal Women's Hospital and University of Melbourne joint family violence chair and Melbourne Research Alliance to End Violence against Women co-chair, Professor Kelsey Hegarty; and Australian Counselling Association Panel for Trauma Standards and Practice chair, Dr. Traill Dowie

Mr Faulkner said there was no question that policy helped maintain the focus on strengthening hospitals' responses to family violence.

RELATED: Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence | The findings

Family violence prevention minister Gabrielle Williams is expected to announce $7.8 million to further support the initiative, during the forum.

"Family violence is a national crisis and we need the whole community's help in preventing violence and providing help for victims," she said.

"This program means healthcare workers can play a vital role."

The funding was included in the state budget.

The Strengthening Hospital Responses to Family Violence program was implemented in response to the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

Resourcing public hospitals to implement a whole-of-hospital model for responding to family violence was one of the Royal Commission's 227 recommendations.

The state government promised to implement all of the recommendations. It has committed $38.4 million to the delivery of the Strengthening Hospital Responses to Family Violence initiative over five years.

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