STATE MEMBER FOR REDLANDS
BOOST TO MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING
I am so proud of the work achieved by our dedicated mental health, alcohol, and drug service providers in the first year of implementation of our Better Care Together plan. With the commitment of an additional $119.8 M we have achieved several milestones in advancing healthcare and outcomes for people experiencing mental ill health, problematic alcohol and other drug use, and mental health crisis including suicidality. We’ve still got four more years of Better Care Together to go, and I can’t wait to provide further updates next year as we invest an additional $301.4 M to improve and expand services. Planning and design works are progressing for our new $150 M Mental Health Facility at Redland Hospital which will increase capacity and support our growing Redlands community.
SUPPORTING OUR SENIORS
Our Donald Simpson Community Centre provides a unique and invaluable service to our seniors’ community. I was pleased to take Minister for Seniors Craig Crawford to visit, the centre, with the great news that our Government is providing them with a further $50,000 in funding support. In 2019 Redland City Council pulled their annual operational funding support to the centre, so over the past few years we have stepped in to assist. In Parliament this month, I met with Minister Crawford to deliver a letter, from me and co-signed by over 400 Donald Simpson Centre members, asking the Minister to consider in new models of care more certainty in funding, and noting that Redland City Council should reinstate the funding for this most important seniors’ community organisation! It’s so important to support our Redlands seniors’ community!
CONSTRUCTION STARTS FOR OUR NEW REDLANDS HOSPITAL ICU
Our Palaszczuk Government’s ‘Big Build’ program continues with construction work underway for our new Redland Hospital Intensive Care Unit with ADCO Constructions. It was great to be joined by the Minister for Health and Ambulance for the official sod turning on site of our new $62 M ICU and an additional 37 beds. This builds on the works by Hutchinson Builders also on site delivering a new 28 bed ward. Feedback on the Redlands Satellite Hospital has been fantastic; this is providing great healthcare closer to home for so many Redlanders, especially for our renal dialysis and chemotherapy patients.
PHARMACISTS DELIVERING MORE HEALTHCARE
Following the success of the Urinary Tract Infection Pharmacy Pilot, which provided over 10,000 women with accessible treatment for uncomplicated UTIs through local pharmacies, we are expanding this program across Queensland. Participating pharmacists will now have the authority to administer a wider range of vaccines and prescribe medications for common health conditions, such as nausea, reflux, rhinitis, mild skin conditions, and acute musculoskeletal pain. Participating pharmacists will also take on a vital role in chronic disease management for conditions like asthma, cardiovascular disease risk reduction, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Further services include hormonal contraception, oral health screening and weight management. This expansion of healthcare services through pharmacies is part of the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to delivering high-quality healthcare services closer to home.
