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Canberra Today 15°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Budget / Boost in health infrastructure and services

AS part of the 2018-19 Budget, the ACT government says it will be investing about $2 billion a year by 2022 into Canberra’s healthcare.

This will be distributed into two main areas; staff and frontline care such as beds and surgeries and resources for emergency departments, as well as investment in new hospital infrastructure.

Budget money for staff and frontline care:

  • $64.7 million to increase the number of elective and emergency surgeries (bringing elective surgeries to around 14,000 per year) to improve access to surgical care and reduce wait times
  • $34.5 million to expand the “Hospital in the Home” program so that around 3000 more patients each year can receive care in their own homes and community health centres
  • $25.9 million for more hospital beds including support for maternity services at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children and more beds to cope with the annual winter surge that hits hospitals during flu season
  • $21.2 million for more resources to help cut waiting times at Canberra Hospital Emergency Department
  • $6.3 million to expand health services at Alexander Maconochie Centre, with additional funding for dental, mental health and general practice services
  • $500,000 over three years to the Health Care Consumers’ Association for initiatives that will help patients navigate the health system
  • $250,000 for early planning to expand alcohol and drug services to develop options for future service models for withdrawal and early intervention, as well as link to the development of the ACT Drug and Alcohol Court.

Infrastructure: 

  • $15 million for capital upgrades at Calvary Public Hospital, which will deliver additional treatment spaces, improved access and triage arrangements, enhanced waiting areas and an expanded Short Stay Unit, including additional paediatric beds, within the Emergency Department
  • $12 million to construct a new health centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through staged payments to Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service over the period 2017-18 to 2020-21
  • $2 million to continue Canberra’s fourth Walk in Centre in the Weston Creek region to add to the network and improve access to free healthcare for Canberrans
  • Continue progress on the planning and scoping of the new Surgical Procedures, Interventional Radiology and Emergency Centre (SPIRE), the expansion of the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children and future hospital options for Canberra’s northside. The Budget includes $561 million in delivery provisions for these major projects.

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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