Painaustralia welcomes returning Morrison Government
Painaustralia welcomes the re-election of the Morrison Government and congratulates them on a strong and effective campaign.
Painaustralia CEO, Carol Bennett, said “As we await confirmation of the new Morrison Government Cabinet, it is important to note that the Coalition’s funding commitments on health were pivotal to their election campaign and win.
“Painaustralia has been pleased to work with the Coalition and Health Minister Greg Hunt in ground-breaking work to advance pain management in Australia over the last 12 months. Minister Hunt funded the first Strategic ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Action Plan for Pain Management. At the launch of the Cost of Pain report, Minister Hunt also committed an additional $6.8m to deliver better pain management across Australia, as well as the establishment of a ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Advisory Council on Pain.”
The number of Australians living with chronic pain is set to rise from 3.24 million to 5.23 million by 2050. Inaction will see the chronic pain price tag remain in the billions: Last year alone, Australians paid $2.7 billion in out of pocket expenses to manage their pain. As a nation, the annual cost will rise from $139.3 billion in 2018 to an estimated $215.6 billion by 2050.
“report released by Minister Hunt in April this year has highlighted the seriousness of the pain burden in Australia and makes a clear case for investment and support to prevent and manage chronic pain conditions.
“The impact of pain is so great, not just in dollar terms, but in lost potential, to contribute, to participate. The rising rate of deaths associated with prescription opioids is just one indicator that we aren’t dealing with chronic pain well in this country,” Ms. Bennett said.
“Millions of Australians are affected by chronic pain – 70% of working age. Tens of thousands living with pain are looking for help from our health system each day. More than 40% of people living with chronic pain also live with depression or anxiety.
Australia was the first country in the world to develop a national framework for pain management with the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Pain Strategy in 2010, and the Health Minister, Greg Hunt MP, further advanced this objective by funding the development of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management.
According to Ms Bennett, “Australia now has the opportunity to lead the world with the implementation of the first, fully funded government response to comprehensively addressing the burden of pain.
“Painaustralia looks forward to continuing our work with the Morrison Government, Health Minister Greg Hunt and our stakeholders to further address the need for an improved national approach to pain management. For millions of Australians, their families, workplaces and communities, better understanding and access to effective pain management cannot come soon enough.”
