Page 1696 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 4 May 2010
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Our Community’s Health
Mr Speaker, in the 2010-11 Budget the ACT health budget will exceed one billion dollars for the first time.
Based on current growth projections, expenditure on health services could equate to the total ACT Budget by 2042. This is a nation-wide challenge and has been recognised by the Commonwealth in the development of its health and hospitals reforms.
The national health and hospitals reforms place health funding in the Territory on a more sustainable footing. They reduce the pressure of health cost growth on the ACT Budget over the medium term.
From 2014-15 to 2019-20, the reforms are estimated to provide at least $248 million in benefits to the ACT. Over the next four years, the Territory health system will be enhanced through Commonwealth investment of around $90 million.
The future of cooperative federalism is positive and has the potential to build on these kinds of new arrangements where funding and responsibility is more fairly shared between the Commonwealth and the Territory and where the outcomes are positive for the ACT.
Mr Speaker, these reforms are a long term commitment to sustainable health funding.
However, the ACT Government in this Budget is responding to the health needs of Canberrans now.
This Budget allocates an additional $177 million over four years in recurrent funding to health services.
This includes an investment of $41.5 million for increased activity. The Government is responding to increasing demand for critical care and acute care services in our public hospitals and will deliver more elective surgery, enhanced health services for older Canberrans, better support for mental health and improved services for cancer patients.
We are funding the operating costs of the $13 million, 16-bed Surgical Assessment and Planning Unit at Canberra Hospital.
800 additional elective surgery operations will be performed in 2010-11 with our $14.7 million injection into these services.
An additional $10.5 million is provided in 2010-11 to increase capacity within the Intensive Care Unit at the Canberra Hospital. This will allow the service to provide up to 20 beds and improve care for patients. Two new High Dependency beds at Calvary Hospital are also being funded through $11.4 million over four years.
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