Wednesday, 4 October 2023

Statements on tabled papers and petitions

Department of Treasury and Finance

Budget papers 2023–24

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (17:16): I am very pleased to rise to speak on – have I got the table numbering right? I had just better check: is it 7330? This is the third of the budget papers – service delivery – tabled on 30 May 2023.

A member: Hear, hear.

Ryan BATCHELOR: I think it will be right. Hopefully it will be right. I do not want to get it wrong, President. I do not want to get it wrong.

Harriet Shing: There is a first time for everything, though.

Ryan BATCHELOR: Maybe. We will have to wait and see. It is very important. What these tabled papers demonstrate is that the health and wellbeing of Victorians is an absolute focus of this Labor government here in Victoria. Every Victorian has the right to access free and quality health care, and that is exactly what funding allocated in these documents demonstrates. What the documents also demonstrate is that we are taking steps to make sure that our healthcare system is open to all and, most importantly, that everyone can get the help that they need quickly and when they need it.

One of the things that these papers demonstrate is that what this government is doing is bringing into focus the important issue of women’s health and is investing quite considerably in women’s health. It is also doing a range of other things, which I will come to across the contribution that I have to give today. The Victorian Labor government knows that for years women’s health has not been given the attention it needs and deserves in our community and in our health system. Conditions like period pain, fibroids and menopausal symptoms will affect around 80 per cent of women in their lifetimes. An estimated 200,000 women in Victoria alone suffer from endometriosis, with an average time of seven years to diagnosis. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s disease than men, and these are the sorts of statistics which must prompt action in our health system, and what this government demonstrates is that we are taking it. We are investing $153 million to completely change how women’s health issues are treated here in Victoria.

I am particularly excited by this because at the Alfred hospital in Southern Metropolitan Region we are building a new women’s health clinic, which will serve as a one-stop shop for women needing treatment and advice on issues from contraception to pelvic pain. We are also giving pharmacists the ability to prescribe the contraceptive pill, commonly used as a contraceptive but also applicable to treating a range of other health issues. Giving pharmacists the ability to issue those prescriptions will make that more accessible, more convenient and improve the operation of our health system for women, but we are obviously not stopping there.

We know that, for too many, being able to access the sort of urgent but not emergency care that they require is considerably important – things like infections, fractures and burns that need immediate treatment. So we are investing more than $70 million to deliver free primary care clinics across the state, and there is one in Southern Metropolitan in Prahran right across the road from the Alfred hospital. These centres are providing local health services for patients who might not be able to wait and see their regular general practitioner. Taking both walk-ins and bookings, these clinics have doctors and nurses onsite to treat mild injuries and illnesses, having access to diagnostic services like pathology and medical imaging. And we know from patients who have been using these facilities since they have been open that they really appreciate being able to walk in and see a doctor with a short wait time for minor bumps and scrapes, and very importantly, this is freeing up space in our emergency departments for people who require serious emergency care, because this Labor government believes that if you are sick, you have got to be able to get care fast.

That is the principle we are also seeking to extend to those suffering from mental injury or psychological distress, and the budget does considerable work in allocating funding to plans for mental health and wellbeing clinics across the state, including one planned as part of Alfred Health in the Southern Metropolitan Region, because no-one should have to suffer in silence while they wait to see a GP or put off the getting of care when they need it because of the cost of that treatment. These mental health and wellbeing locals will act as a front door to the mental health system targeted at people over the age of 26, creating inclusive and welcoming spaces, and importantly, people will not need a referral to visit. These are a range of ways in which this government is supporting the health care of the Victorian community to make sure that everyone and all Victorians have access to quality, affordable health care when and where they need it.