Page 3148 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 22 August 2017
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decade to strengthen the delivery of ACT health services, connecting primary and community-based care through to hospital-based services. This work will transform how patients receive person and family-centred care in our system.
I am very excited about what this will mean for the care, health and wellbeing of Canberrans. The development phase will also include feedback opportunities and engagement opportunities with the community, stakeholders, patients and staff. Just last month I opened a forum with senior ACT Health staff and health professionals focused on the progress of this important framework.
A key element also of the territory-wide health services planning is an integrated and coordinated service model that keeps people healthy and well. I am pleased that “wellbeing” has been added to my portfolio title to underscore the efforts of everyone in our health system to keep people as healthy and as well as they can be. This is supported in this budget through an additional $4 million for preventative health initiatives and the development of a preventative health strategy.
We want to ensure that we provide as many opportunities as possible to prevent Canberrans from developing chronic health conditions and encourage people to live healthy lives while managing these conditions. We know that so many chronic diseases can be prevented—most notably diabetes and heart disease. We also know the major risk factors associated with these diseases, notably obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking and alcohol use. So our preventative health work will develop initiatives to further tackle these.
Improving healthcare quality is also a key strategic priority for ACT Health. We are developing a new quality strategy, focusing on safe and effective health care and reducing unnecessary waste and harm. We are currently developing the quality strategy and will use this opportunity to engage both staff and consumers to understand what quality, safe and person-centred care means to staff, consumers and families. Over the next few months there will be a number of opportunities for staff and patients to participate in and assist with providing information to shape the development of the quality strategy.
Finally, as the Assembly is aware, and as I have regularly informed my colleagues, work is continuing on the important system-wide data review over the course of the next financial year. I look forward to providing a further quarterly update to members in our next sitting period.
We are very proud of the many achievements of ACT Health over the past year and remain committed to improving health services to care for our community. I want to emphasise that this government will always make the health of our community one of our top priorities. It is certainly evident through the commitments made in this year’s budget.
We understand that Canberrans want to know that good quality health care will be available when they need it, whether it is for a routine check-up, a sudden broken bone, a much-anticipated birth or a chronic illness. We are committed to providing
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