BCH backs push for infrastructure spending

BELLARINE Community Health (BCH) is backing calls for an urgent increase in statewide infrastructure funding to ensure community health organisations can meet growing demand.

An Infrastructure Victoria report, released last week, found an increase of 1.5 per cent to 3 per cent would allow community health organisations to expand their reach, co-locate more services, and deliver more community-based healthcare to help reduce hospital admissions.

Although registered community health organisations such as BCH provide services to one in 10 Victorians, the report found they received only 0.3 per cent of the Victorian government’s $2 billion annual budget for health infrastructure.

BCH says the opening of stage one of its Child, Youth and Family Hub in Ocean Grove earlier this year was a good example of how investing in infrastructure could improve health and wellbeing outcomes.

The federal Department of Health and Aged Care and the Anthony Costa Foundation provided funding for stage one, with the land donated by the Corless Family Trust.

“The hub was designed to support the health, development and wellbeing of local children and young people by co-locating our child and youth teams and providing a streamlined pathway for local families to access services,” BCH chief executive officer Kathy Russell said.

“Our youngest clients now have access to facilities that support the best early intervention models of care, and our staff are housed in facilities that are fit for purpose.

“We’ve only managed to secure funding for the first stage, but this project is a great example of where the state government should partner with us and invest in infrastructure that would deliver a valuable outcome for the community.”

She said state funding supported the majority of community services provided to children, but the Victorian government was not contributing to the infrastructure.

“We have already delivered stage one to the highest possible standard and we are ready to go with stage two if we can secure funding.”

The Infrastructure Victoria report recommends the Victorian government should run an asset assessment of all the state’s community health facilities, identify priorities, and roll out a five-year program of investment estimated to cost between $150 million and $300 million over five years.