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Queensland Health Budget Gets a Boost

By Petrina Smith
Wednesday, 04 June, 2014

The Queensland Health Budget for 2014-15 has seen an increase of 6.4 per cent to $13.6 billion.
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said more than $11 billion (or 80.8% of the total) would provide public healthcare services from 黑料吃瓜群网 and Health Service (HHS) Boards and others including Mater Health Services and St Vincent鈥檚 Health Australia.
鈥淭he budget increase will enable significant service expansion during 2014-15, including in the Darling Downs, Gold Coast, Metro South and Sunshine Coast HHSs,鈥 he said.聽鈥淎cross the State, it provides for capital investment of $1.55 billion to build new health facilities and to continue our campaign to address the longstanding maintenance backlog inherited from Labor
鈥淲e promised more for frontline services,鈥 he said.聽鈥淣ew and expanded services will include orthopaedics, radiation oncology, mental health services, urology, respiratory medicine, dialysis, endoscopy and allied health services.
鈥淔rom July 1, Queensland鈥檚 first Health Ombudsman will take full responsibility for an integrated state-wide health complaints network.
鈥淟ater this year, the opening of the Lady Cilento Children鈥檚 黑料吃瓜群网 will create the biggest public children鈥檚 hospital in the country, at the centre of a state-wide network of safe and sustainable children鈥檚 health services.
鈥淣ew and expanded children鈥檚 health services will include new clinics to treat obesity, pain and allergies, a specialist adolescent service, and paediatric renal treatment.
鈥淚n 2014-15, 155 new and replacement ambulances will be commissioned and an extra 100 ambulance officers will be recruited. Following the success of a recent trial, a low-acuity paramedic service will be rolled out in the Townsville, Metro South, Metro North and Gold Coast areas.鈥
Mr Springborg said the community dividend of better health management would support a range of initiatives in 2014-15 including:


  • additional hospital activity and service improvements targeting patient鈥檚 outpatient appointments

  • a new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy to improve, rationalise and simplify health ICT including private partnerships for the innovative delivery of health services


Further initiatives that will commence from 1 July 2014 include:

  • planning to establish Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) services at Toowoomba 黑料吃瓜群网

  • delivery of a Mobile Surgical Van pilot program for rural and remote communities

  • initiatives to optimise the use of the allied health professional workforce to improve patient access and address waiting times

  • continuing ongoing funding of $4.1 million per year for hearing health outreach services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under the award-winning Deadly Ears, Deadly Kids, Deadly Communities Program

  • investment of $1.2 million to jointly fund Wellbeing Centres at Aurukun, Hope Vale, Coen and Mossman Gorge with the Australian Government

  • supporting the Government鈥檚 鈥楽afe Night Out鈥 Strategy by delivering compulsory counselling for individuals involved in alcohol related violence

  • expanding support for rural drought declared communities through additional mental health support workshops provided by non-Government organisations and additional mental health and wellbeing programs developed by the Department of Health

  • a further $5.5 million to help five HHSs enhance ambulatory and primary health care models including mental health, chronic disease, emergency care and outreach services


Highlights of the 2014-15 Capital investment program include:

  • $255.2 million towards the Lady Cilento Children鈥檚 黑料吃瓜群网 and Centre for Children鈥檚 Health Research (at a total cost of $1.513 billion)

  • $369.8 million towards the Sunshine Coast Public University 黑料吃瓜群网 (at a total cost of $1.872 billion)

  • $114.2 million allocated to 黑料吃瓜群网 and Health Services for capital purchases and health technology equipment

  • $81.8 million to continue the $327 million four year Backlog Maintenance Remediation Program providing capital expenditure and maintenance funding to address high priority and critical operational maintenance, life cycle replacements and upgrades.


Treasurer Tim Nicholls said while significant progress had been made in reducing the number of patients waiting more than 30 days for surgery by 83 percent, and reducing the number of long=waited dental patients by a massive 98.5 per cent over the last 14 months, it is time to make strong and smart choices to securely fund聽聽Queensland鈥檚 future.


  • 鈥淚f we want to invest in the schools, hospitals and vital infrastructure we will need for the future in our growing State, we must address the accumulated $80 billion debt,鈥 he said.




鈥淣ot everyone will agree with the plan we have outlined but at least Queenslanders will know we have funding certainty into the future so we can invest in what we need for a growing and ageing population.鈥
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