PALLIATIVE CARE — REGIONAL SERVICES
833. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
In May this year, the minister announced a 74 per cent
increase in funding for palliative care in the regions.
(1) What was
the original dollar value of funding for regional palliative care in the 2018–19
budget, and how much in dollar terms is the WA government now planning to put
in?
(2) Aside from
the money being put into the care facility in Carnarvon, what other money is
being spent on palliative care in the regions?
(3) Will the
government address the issue of palliative care funding, or the lack of
funding, when it brings on the debate in this chamber for the Voluntary
Assisted Dying Bill?
Hon ALANNA CLOHESY
replied:
I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1) In 2018–19,
the WA government committed $6.744 million inclusive for palliative care and cancer
care services. In 2019–20, the WA government has committed an
additional $5.081 million specifically for regional palliative care services,
bringing the total for 2019–20 to $11.977 million.
(2) For the
period 2019–23, an additional $30.164 million has been allocated to
regional palliative care services to complement existing funding.
(3) The McGowan
government recently announced in the 2019–20 budget, an additional
funding package of $41 million over four years to support end-of-life choices
and palliative care, which includes $5.8 million towards the implementation of
the recommendations of the report of the Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices, $30.164 million on palliative
care services in the regions; and an additional $5 million to the Carnarvon
aged-care and palliative care facility. This package brings the total
investment by the state government for palliative care services over the next
four years to $206.2 million.
The work on voluntary assisted dying
legislation was undertaken in parallel with ongoing reforms and investment in
palliative care, as set out in the ''WA End-of-Life and Palliative Care
Strategy 2018–2028'' and recent budget announcements. The
minister has convened a palliative care summit on 24 August for health
practitioners, stakeholders and the community to explore ways to progress
implementation of the strategy and the recommendations of the ''My Life,
My Choice'' report to further enhance and support high-quality
palliative care services for all Western Australians.