Wednesday, 1 November 2023

Spiritual care

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (18:21): (567) My matter is for the attention of the Minister for Health, and it is in relation to spiritual care practitioners and funding. It is an issue that I spoke about with Dr Cheryl Holmes last week after she wrote to me and the minister seeking that funding be provided. Spiritual care practitioners employed by health services are not tied to any religious group; they focus instead on offering essential support in vulnerable times, and they play a vital role during times of loss or grieving. I certainly am aware of this from my time working as both a nurse and midwife and having seen firsthand the work of spiritual practitioners.

I think it is just mean and callous that this government is cutting such a minuscule amount of funding that is required to keep these practitioners in place. They cover a range of faiths and religions – Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Jewish and Sikh, just to name a few – and they are represented in over 40 hospitals. What the government is doing is callously not providing any more funding from June 2024. They were seeking $685,000, but they realised the state is broke. They said, ‘We know the state is experiencing some fiscal problems’ – I will be more blunt than that: we are broke, as we know ‍– and they said, ‘We’ll reduce the investment from $685,000 specifically to $62,000 for a project to co-design the sustainable funding model for faith-specific care and $150,000 per annum for two years for the rollout of the co-designed model of spiritual care in Victorian health services.’ That is all they are asking for, and this mean-spirited government, this callous government, refuses to provide it.

In fact it was reaffirmed just on Monday by the Secretary of the Department of Health, who wrote to Dr Holmes and said:

We value an approach to care that recognises the significance of a holistic view of health, including spirituality. Additionally, we acknowledge and appreciate the contribution of faith communities in supporting patients being cared for in hospitals and by other community health services.

They then went on to say:

However, there is no change since our previous correspondence regarding funding. At this time, it would not be possible for Safer Care Victoria to provide funds to the Spiritual Health Association beyond June 30, 2024.

I say again: it is a tiny bit of funding in the whole health budget, and you cannot find it? Minister, intervene and overturn this decision.