Thursday, 9 March 2023

Community health services

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (19:28): (102) Two weeks ago I was pleased to join members of our community health sector to launch the Community Health First campaign. They are calling on the government both to strengthen our existing community health network and to use their expertise to shape wider health system reform. We heard from consumers and service providers about the importance of community health and the role the sector can play in ensuring Victorians have access to integrated and affordable health care. Community health organisations provide services to more than half a million Victorians each year across metropolitan, rural and regional areas. The model of care they deliver targets the root cause of health inequalities. It keeps people out of hospital by intervening early and providing care as a team.

These vital health services have persevered despite years of underinvestment from successive governments. This week I saw up close what underinvestment in community health looks like when I visited Cohealth in Collingwood with my colleague Gabrielle de Vietri, the member for Richmond in the other place. I was shocked at what I saw. Not only is the building no longer fit for purpose, it is actually falling apart. There are wide gaps in the walls that mean confidential conversations between clinicians and their patients can be heard in the tearoom. Parts of the site even had to be shut down last year due to leaks in the ceiling. Cohealth told me that despite repeated applications for funding to upgrade the premises, they have been knocked back. This shameful situation can be seen across community health organisations in Victoria.

In addition to this, community health deliver services far in excess of what they are funded for. As they are committed to the most vulnerable in their communities, they stretch their funds to the absolute thinnest of margins to deliver holistic care that should be the gold standard everywhere. The funding agreement between states and the Commonwealth makes it clear that community health is a Victorian state government responsibility. The action I am seeking from the Minister for Health is to guarantee that funding for community health services will be increased in this budget so their facilities can be made safe and fit for purpose and so that essential health services can continue to be delivered to people in need across the state.