The 2024-25 State Budget reaffirms the Malinauskas Government’s commitment to health, with an additional $2.5 billion in funding to meet demand and create a sustainable, more efficient system.
The latest funding boost means that, in its first three budgets this government has delivered $7.1 billion in additional funding for the health system.
New measures in today’s budget include:
- $1.6 billion over five years to recognise the higher cost of service delivery and recent increase in the national efficient price, and support SA Health as it progressively increases the efficiency of its services.
- $742.3 million over five years to meet activity and demand pressures in our public health system and to ensure it is appropriately resourced to continue to meet the needs of South Australians into the future.
The budget also provides:
- $30.2 million over two years to build 56 new beds across the Queen Elizabeth and Lyell McEwin hospitals, providing more hospital beds for South Australians living in the Western and Northern suburbs.
- $24 million over three years for three brand new ambulance stations at Marion, Two Wells and Whyalla.
- $23.5 million over two years to introduce an electronic patient care record system to SA Ambulance Service, enabling paramedics to transmit patient data in real time to hospitals and speed up admissions, rather than the current paper-based process.
- $17.1 million over four years to expand renal haemodialysis in the northern metropolitan area, providing an additional 21 chairs and supporting an additional 84 patients.
- $15.2 million over three years to manage current tuberculosis outbreaks across South Australia.
- $11.5 million over four years to support the Port Pirie Emergency Department upgrade and provide for a multi profession simulated training and development service. This brings the total capital investment for Port Pirie Hospital upgrade to $20.6 million.
- $10.7 million over four years to expand the clinical telephone assessment service, enabling SA Ambulance Service to employ 16 more Paramedic Telehealth Clinicians.
- $5 million over four years to fund a range of programs to support youth mental health services, including an expansion of child and adolescent virtual urgent care services, additional mental health workshops, and support for carers and families of those with eating disorders.
Public hospital workers will continue to benefit from cheaper carparking and free public transport.
As put by Stephen Mullighan
Health will always be a top priority for this government and we are making the investments necessary to meet demand and create a more sustainable and efficient health system into the future.
This budget provides an additional $2.5 billion in new measures to ensure South Australians continue to receive the very best health care.
As put by Chris Picton
Already the Malinauskas Government has added 1,432 additional nurses, doctors, ambos and allied health workers above attrition to improve care for patients.
Ambulance response times have significantly improved in the past two years as extra resources have hit the road.
We will now be opening over 330 new hospital beds by the end of next year to increase the capacity of our hospital system to meet the demand – equivalent to more than a new Queen Elizabeth Hospital coming into the system.
