An extra $816million will be invested in Queensland Health this year, with the Newman LNP government promising the vast majority of extra funding will go straight to the newly created Hospital and Health Services which have been established to give greater local control and input into health services.
Health Minister, Lawrence Springborg, said the additional funding would be strategically targeted at new or expanded programs aimed at ensuring more staff were available at hospitals on weekends; engaging private hospitals to assist reduce ‘long wait’ patients; and funding an additional 40,000 specialist outpatient appointments to reduce the former Labor Government’s notorious “waiting List for the waiting list”.
Mr Springborg said the additional funding would also help deliver on the LNP’s pledge to fund a 3% salary increase for nurses and midwives that took effect last Wednesday.
Mr Springborg said the extra $816 million represented a budget increase of approximately 7% on the last budget of the previous Labor Government.
In Tuesday’s State Budget the LNP will plan to invest a total of $11.862 billion in Queensland Health compared to just over $11 billion by the previous government.
However Mr Springborg acknowledged he was reluctant to talk about health in terms of ‘dollars and cents’.
“Queenslanders have just come out of 14 dark years of Labor maladministration of Queensland Health where billions of dollars were squandered and wasted including on the billion-dollar bungled health payroll system and massive cost over-runs,” he said.
“The additional investment is a clear sign that the LNP is serious about health reform and delivering world class health services; but more money simply won’t work on its own unless it goes hand in hand with the reforms the LNP is pursuing,” he said.
“We’ve learnt from 14 years of Labor that money alone isn’t the answer to the woes of Queensland Health,” he said.
“That’s why this additional funding announced by the LNP is going to be very carefully and very strategically targeted towards reducing waiting lists and it’s going to help value our more than 66,000 full-time equivalent staff including our nurses and midwives who only last week started to benefit from the 3% salary increase the LNP agreed to within weeks of forming government,” he said.
Queensland Health Budget Fast Facts:
- LNP first budget for Queensland Health = $11.862 billion in 2012/13
- Labor’s last budget for Queensland Health = $11.046 billion in 2011/12
- LNPs’ increased investment = $816 million (+7.3%) of which $667.6 million will be directed to the new Hospital and health Services;
- MORE STAFF ON WEEKENDS: new funding for increased medical, nursing and allied health staff on weekends to ensure patients can be treated and discharged without unnecessary delays;
- REDUCING WAITING LISTS BY PARTNERING PRIVATE PROVIDERS: new funding to engage private providers to help treat ‘long wait’ patients to reduce pressure on elective surgery;
- TARGETTED FUNDING TO GET PEOPLE OFF LABOR’S ‘WAITING LIST FOR THE WAITING LIST: new funding to provide up to an additional 40,000 specialist outpatient appointments to enable better access to specialist care such as ENT specialist and surgical procedures;
- EMERGENCY REPAIRS TO RURAL & REMOTE HOSPITALS: $51.6 million for rural and remote infrastructure rectification works at Atherton, Ayr, Biloela, Charleville, Charters Towers, Emerald, Kingaroy, Longreach, Mareeba, Roma, Sarina and Thursday Island.