The Prime Minister and Victorian Premier today signed a historic agreement to deliver a National Health and Hospitals Network.
The National Health and Hospitals Network will improve health outcomes for the people of Victoria and the sustainability of the Victorian health and hospitals system.
This agreement delivers the most significant reform to our health and hospitals system since the introduction of Medicare.
The National Health and Hospitals Network will deliver a dominant funder, so that patients in Victoria are no longer shunted from one system funded by the State Government to another funded by the Australian Government.
Under this reform, the Australian Government will:
- become the dominant funder of public hospitals, funding 60 per cent of the nationally efficient price of every public hospital service provided to public patients
- fund 60 per cent of building, equipment, teaching, training and services;
- fund all GP and primary care services and all aged care services.
This new National Health and Hospitals Network also means that hard working doctors and nurses will have more say in the way their local hospital is run, through Local Hospital Networks and new primary health care organisations.
From July 1 this year, the Australian Government will start delivering $1.5 billion in additional funding for Victoria over the next four years, this will provide:
- $402 million for 326 new sub-acute hospital beds
- A four hour target on emergency department waiting times, backed by a $181 million investment in additional capital and recurrent funding
- A target of 95 per cent of people receiving elective surgery within clinically recommended times, backed by a $194 million investment in additional capital and recurrent funding.
- $112 million to provide coordinated care for around 65,000 patients with diabetes
- $128 million to support more aged care places and improved access to GP and primary health care services in aged care
- $278 million to train more doctors and allied health professionals and to support the nursing workforce in Victoria.
- $37 million for youth friendly mental health services and more mental health nurses
The Australian Government will also deliver around $3.8 billion in top-up funds between 2014-15 and 2019-20, to guarantee sustainable funding for Victoria's health and hospital system.
Today's agreement delivers fundamental reform to ensure that the Victorian health and hospitals system can cope with the pressures of a growing and ageing population.
It will deliver a nationally funded and locally controlled health system that will ensure that future generations of Australians enjoy access to universally accessible health care.