State Budget Neglects Ballarat Community Health
Member for Western Victoria Region, Bev McArthur used a constituency question in parliament this week to ask the Minister for Health about the unfortunate financial situation of Ballarat Community Health.
Ballarat Community Health has four sites in the Ballarat area, including Sebastopol, Lucas, Smythesdale and Wendouree, with outreach services and clinics at a range of locations throughout the Central Highlands.
Their primary emphasis in all service delivery is health promotion and illness protection. They have conducted 6500 immunisations so far this year, attended to 1000 clients each day and offer 30 different available services as cost-effectively as possible.
Bev McArthur said “I recently met with the CEO of Ballarat Community Health, Sean Duffy, and was impressed with the extraordinary range and extent of services provided across its various sites.”
Bev McArthur said however, “I was shocked to learn that, while BCH is operating a very lean operation, with a growing demand for services, it is in deficit, having received zero additional dollars in the last budget—the last budget that was allegedly ‘Delivering for all Victorians’”.
Bev McArthur asked the Minister, “what is she doing to ensure that the funding shortfall in community health care is redressed so that preventative health care at a community level can flourish free of debt?”
14 September 2019