media release

Senator for Tasmania

The Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health, Warren Snowdon, was in northern Tasmania today with the Senator for Tasmania, Helen Polley and the Labor Candidate for Bass, Geoff Lyons, to announce funding for three projects that will boost health services and encourage locals to live a healthy lifestyle in the region.

 

The funding is part of Federal Labor’s commitment to investing in better health services for all Australians.

 

The four announcements included:

-    $576,000 to assist the Flinders Island and Cape Barren Island communities to do activities to improve their health and make healthy lifestyle choices. GP North will run the Furneaux Island Health Promotion Initiative, which is funded under the Labor Government’s $18 million Preventative Health Initiative;

-    Almost $125,000 for Riverside Podiatry Clinic to purchase equipment to provide rural and remote communities of Tasmania with podiatry (foot health) services, under the National Rural and Remote Health Infrastructure Program (NRRHIP);

 

-    $26,500 for the Scottsdale Doctors Surgery to fit?out and equip two dedicated consulting/training rooms at the new Scottsdale Primary Care Centre under the National Rural and Remote Health Infrastructure Program (NRRHIP).

 

 

Helen Polley welcomed the funding for the Furneaux Island Health Promotion Initiative.

 

“It will help local families get access to activities to improve their health, and it will increase their knowledge about how to prevent health problems in the future.”

 

Geoff Lyons said the funding for the Riverside Podiatry Clinic will deliver more foot health services to Northern Tasmania.

 

“I support any programs that deliver more vital health infrastructure for our community. These new services will enhance the health of northern Tasmanians by providing podiatry services where they are currently very limited.”

 

The funding will mean new services in St Helens, Swansea, Bicheno and Scottsdale; expand services in Deloraine, Westbury and Exeter and consolidate services at Riverside and Cape Barren Island.

 

Warren Snowdon said the funding for Scottsdale Doctors Surgery would provide better training facilities and improve access to high quality medical services for people in the Scottsdale area.

 

The announcements were made as part of the Rural Health Ministers visit to northern Tasmania, which included meeting health professionals and members of the community at GP North Tasmania (the Division of General Practice Northern Tasmania Inc), Riverside Podiatry and Launceston Hospital.

 

The Gillard Labor Government has also committed to deliver to the Launceston Hospital:

 

-    more than $1.25 million to purchase new equipment that will assist in improving the elective surgery capacity of the hospital;

-    $2.42 million to the hospital’s emergency department to establish an around?the?clock psychiatric emergency nurse liaison service and a clinical leadership and expertise team.

 

The latest Federal budget provides more than $795 million in targeted rural health programs – more than a 65 per cent increase on the last term of the previous Government.

 

To further improve health services for communities in rural and remote areas, the Gillard Labor Government is delivering:

·         1,000 new nursing training places every year and an additional 1,300 GPs qualified or training by 2013.

·         179 projects across Australia to provide essential health infrastructure, equipment and service planning for rural and remote communities under the $46 million National Rural and Remote Health Infrastructure Program (NRRHIP).

 

In contrast, Tony Abbott would cut GP Super Clinics, hurting up to 425 communities, and would cut the after-hours GP Helpline.

 

A Gillard Labor Government would move Australia forward with record investments and the most significant reforms to the health and hospitals system since the introduction of Medicare.