Published Friday, 01 June, 2007 at 06:16 PM
JOINT STATEMENT
Minister for Health
The Honourable Stephen Robertson
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure
The Honourable Anna Bligh
MORE FUNDS FOR FLYING DOCS AND RURAL SPECIALISTS
The State Budget will provide a major boost for medicine in the bush with a big injection of funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and more doctors who specialise in rural practice Premier Peter Beattie announced today.
Mr Beattie said the Queensland government would increase its annual funding to the Royal Flying Doctor Service by almost 80 per cent a year - from $16.5 million to $29.3 million.
“The government will also provide an extra $18.3 million over four years to fund five more ‘rural generalist’ positions in 07-08 with more positions funded in the following years,” Mr Beattie said.
“Rural generalists are an emerging type of specialist doctor able to carry out a range of advanced skills such as delivering babies, administering anesthetics and performing some surgery,” Mr Beattie said.
“This is an important boost to Queensland Health’s medical workforce in the bush.
“The Royal Flying Doctor Service has served thousands of Australians in need of emergency medical treatment and transport so well over the past 79 years. Nowhere is the service more vital than in Queensland with a vast land mass and the most widely dispersed population in Australia.
“Every year the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Queensland treats more than 81,000 patients, including 9,000 emergency retrievals and transfers from one hospital to another.
“They clock up a total of 5.4 million kilometres in Queensland every year. As the costs of air travel and medical treatment have increased, so too have the funding requirements of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.”
Deputy Premier and Treasurer Anna Bligh said Queensland Health would increase aeromedical funding by $12.8 million in 2007-08 with the Royal Flying Doctor Service as the preferred provider. Where the Service does not have the capacity to reach activity targets, alternative providers will be contracted.
Ms Bligh said the Royal Flying Doctor Service, with State and Commonwealth funding, will provide several services in Queensland including:
• Emergency retrieval services from the Brisbane, Rockhampton, Bundaberg and Townsville bases;
• Traditional services such as primary health care clinics, inter-hospital transfers; child health and immunisation clinics and training rural and remote health care professionals;
• Medical staff to work some shifts in Rockhampton Hospital’s emergency department as well as assisting Queensland Health’s own aeromedical and state emergency retrieval system; and
• A range of medical services in the Cape York region through Queensland Health and funding and Medicare arrangements.
“This latest funding boost follows Beattie Government funding totalling $24 million in 2004 to purchase three new aircraft for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The aircraft were fitted with the latest in aeromedical technology,” Ms Bligh said.
“More recently, the State Government approved the purchase of a fourth aircraft.”
“In addition to the Royal Flying Doctor Service funding, Careflight Medical Services will receive additional annual funding of $1.47 million to help fulfil its role in emergency retrievals in Queensland.”
Health Minister Stephen Robertson said the five additional rural generalist positions would be allocated through close planning with Queensland Health’s area health services.
“It follows five positions funded in last year’s budget and will take our rural generalist ranks towards 100,’ Mr Robertson said.
“All up over the next four years, our Government is investing more than $27 million into building and supporting our rural generalist workforce.
“Rural generalists are credentialed to serve in hospital-based and community based primary medical practice as well as practice in at least one specialist medical discipline, such as obstetrics.
“By developing Rural General Medicine as a specialty career path, we will create more locally-trained specialist doctors to live and work in the bush. This will help reduce our reliance on overseas-trained doctors and visiting junior doctors to provide medical services in rural and remote communities,” Mr Robertson said.
Mr Robertson said not only would the additional specialists boost medical services in the bush, they were vital in training the next wave of rural generalists.
“This year, we have 29 interns undertaking prevocational training as a first step in becoming a rural generalist,” Mr Robertson said.
“We also have 33 registrars training to obtain fellowship with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine – some of which will advance to become rural generalists.”
Media inquiries: Premier’s office 3224 4500
Deputy Premier and Treasurer’s office 3224 6900
Health Minister’s office: Joshua Cooney 3234 1185
1 June 2007
Mr Beattie said the Queensland government would increase its annual funding to the Royal Flying Doctor Service by almost 80 per cent a year - from $16.5 million to $29.3 million.
“The government will also provide an extra $18.3 million over four years to fund five more ‘rural generalist’ positions in 07-08 with more positions funded in the following years,” Mr Beattie said.
“Rural generalists are an emerging type of specialist doctor able to carry out a range of advanced skills such as delivering babies, administering anesthetics and performing some surgery,” Mr Beattie said.
“This is an important boost to Queensland Health’s medical workforce in the bush.
“The Royal Flying Doctor Service has served thousands of Australians in need of emergency medical treatment and transport so well over the past 79 years. Nowhere is the service more vital than in Queensland with a vast land mass and the most widely dispersed population in Australia.
“Every year the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Queensland treats more than 81,000 patients, including 9,000 emergency retrievals and transfers from one hospital to another.
“They clock up a total of 5.4 million kilometres in Queensland every year. As the costs of air travel and medical treatment have increased, so too have the funding requirements of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.”
Deputy Premier and Treasurer Anna Bligh said Queensland Health would increase aeromedical funding by $12.8 million in 2007-08 with the Royal Flying Doctor Service as the preferred provider. Where the Service does not have the capacity to reach activity targets, alternative providers will be contracted.
Ms Bligh said the Royal Flying Doctor Service, with State and Commonwealth funding, will provide several services in Queensland including:
• Emergency retrieval services from the Brisbane, Rockhampton, Bundaberg and Townsville bases;
• Traditional services such as primary health care clinics, inter-hospital transfers; child health and immunisation clinics and training rural and remote health care professionals;
• Medical staff to work some shifts in Rockhampton Hospital’s emergency department as well as assisting Queensland Health’s own aeromedical and state emergency retrieval system; and
• A range of medical services in the Cape York region through Queensland Health and funding and Medicare arrangements.
“This latest funding boost follows Beattie Government funding totalling $24 million in 2004 to purchase three new aircraft for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The aircraft were fitted with the latest in aeromedical technology,” Ms Bligh said.
“More recently, the State Government approved the purchase of a fourth aircraft.”
“In addition to the Royal Flying Doctor Service funding, Careflight Medical Services will receive additional annual funding of $1.47 million to help fulfil its role in emergency retrievals in Queensland.”
Health Minister Stephen Robertson said the five additional rural generalist positions would be allocated through close planning with Queensland Health’s area health services.
“It follows five positions funded in last year’s budget and will take our rural generalist ranks towards 100,’ Mr Robertson said.
“All up over the next four years, our Government is investing more than $27 million into building and supporting our rural generalist workforce.
“Rural generalists are credentialed to serve in hospital-based and community based primary medical practice as well as practice in at least one specialist medical discipline, such as obstetrics.
“By developing Rural General Medicine as a specialty career path, we will create more locally-trained specialist doctors to live and work in the bush. This will help reduce our reliance on overseas-trained doctors and visiting junior doctors to provide medical services in rural and remote communities,” Mr Robertson said.
Mr Robertson said not only would the additional specialists boost medical services in the bush, they were vital in training the next wave of rural generalists.
“This year, we have 29 interns undertaking prevocational training as a first step in becoming a rural generalist,” Mr Robertson said.
“We also have 33 registrars training to obtain fellowship with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine – some of which will advance to become rural generalists.”
Media inquiries: Premier’s office 3224 4500
Deputy Premier and Treasurer’s office 3224 6900
Health Minister’s office: Joshua Cooney 3234 1185
1 June 2007