The Queensland budget has allocated an extra $816 million to Queensland Health this year, with the majority of the additional funding earmarked for the newly created Hospital and Health Services.

 

Health Minister, Lawrence Springborg, said the additional funding would be strategically targeted at new or expanded programs aimed at ensuring more staff were available at hospitals on weekends; engaging private hospitals to assist reduce ‘long wait’ patients; and funding an additional 40,000 specialist outpatient appointments to reduce the former Labor Government’s notorious “waiting List for the waiting list”.

 

Mr Springborg said the additional funding would also help deliver on the LNP’s pledge to fund a 3% salary increase for nurses and midwives that took effect last Wednesday.

 

Mr Springborg said the extra $816 million represented a budget increase of approximately 7% on the last budget of the previous Labor Government.

 

In Tuesday’s State Budget the LNP will plan to invest a total of $11.862 billion in Queensland Health compared to just over $11 billion by the previous government.