SERVICES for the chronically ill are expected to improve after a funding injection of $1.6 million made to the Western Region Health Centre.
The money will be released over four years and is expected to fund the services of additional staff.
Manager of Primary Care Services at the centre, Barbara Hill, welcomed the State Government funding.
“We definitely needed the money,” Ms Hill said.
“It will be focused on the early intervention of chronic illnesses and it enhances our service as we will be employing more staff who have the specific focus to provide early intervention services to people with chronic diseases.”
She said chronic diseases in the West included diabetes, heart failure, hypertension and Hepatitis C.
Ms Hill added that the funding would lower the impact of chronic disease in the community and as a result extend the quality of life of residents in the West.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health Daniel Andrews, who announced the funding, said public hospitals treated 62,000 people a year in Victoria for asthma, diabetes, chronic heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at a cost of $200m a year.
The centre is one of eight community health services that will also share in funding of $562,500 for specialist refugee nurses and $12,500 for extra language services.
The State Government has allocated more than $4 million a year statewide to the Early Intervention in Chronic Disease in Community Health Services Initiative.
