Budget 2014-2015 Budget Overview
Tabled paper 832
Tabled Papers for 12th Assembly 2012 - 2016; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
2014-05-13
Tabled by David Tollner
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
English
Tabled papers
Darwin
application/pdf
Copyright
See publication
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00864
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/273753
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/426367
16 BUDGET 2014-15 Budget Overview Health and Wellbeing The 2014-15 Budget supports the health and wellbeing of all Territorians by investing in health infrastructure and services with $1.35 billion in total health-related expenditure. Palmerston Regional Hospital The 2014-15 Budget confirms the $150million Commonwealth and Territory government-funded Palmerston Regional Hospital development. The hospital will deliver an emergency department and also provide medical and surgical services including cardiology, renal medicine, cancer services, paediatric, antenatal and postnatal obstetric services. Palmerston Regional Hospital headworks are planned to commence in 2014 and major construction works are anticipated to be underway in 2016. The hospital is projected to be completed in 2018. Health Services The 2014-15 Budget provides funding to maintain the expanded range and quality of vital services to Territorians including: $6.5 million in continued funding for enhanced cardiac outreach and rehabilitation services and low-risk angioplasty services; $7.5 million in continued funding for the implementation of review recommendations to improve the Patient Assistance Travel Scheme, a subsidy scheme to provide financial assistance to Territorians who are referred by an approved practitioner to the nearest approved specialist medical service; $4.46 million in continued funding to provide 400 elective surgery procedures peryear to reduce elective surgery waiting times; and $5.67million, including an additional $0.16 million in 2014-15, to meet the increased operational costs of the new Alice Springs Hospital emergency department. Budget 2014-15 also provides additional funding of: $0.39 million to support palliative respite care services in Alice Springs; $0.725 million for mobile breast screening across remote communities and for a Palmerston-based service; and $1.32 million for primary health services at the Darwin Correctional Precinct. Mental Health The 2014-15 Budget includes $52.2million to provide mental health services across the Territory. In2013-14, the delivery of frontline mental health services transferred from the Department of Health to the Top End and Central Australia Health Services. The department retains responsibility for reporting, policy and procedure development, legal and forensic services, while the Health Services provide specialist mental health services including assessment, case management and treatment. New Health Services Framework From 1 July 2014, primary health care services will be integrated into the Top End Health Service and the Central Australia Health Service through the transfer of urban and remote primary health care services and prison health from the Department of Health. The three separate entities (the department and the two Health Services) will continue to operate as a single Territory-wide system with consistent standards and protocols to ensure that service accessibility, safety and quality are not compromised by the structural changes.