Budget good for Queenslanders’ health

The state government has listened to AMA Queensland calls and has made significant investments in the health workforce in today’s budget.

“This is a good budget for our health system and will go a long way to addressing workforce shortages, particularly in regional areas,” AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim said.

“Workforce is our number one priority, and it has been recognised in the budget.

“AMA Queensland has been urging our government to follow the lead of Tasmania and Victoria and offer financial incentives for doctors to train as GPs.

“We have been making this call for two years and are pleased to see it has been adopted as part of the new Health Workforce Strategy.

“We have been working with the Queensland Government on this workforce strategy to ensure it looks at the entire health workforce, not just Queensland Health employees.

“Any strategy must take into account current shortages in both the public and private health systems, identify future pressure points and outline actions to address short-term and long-term issues.

“This budget invests in primary care and general practice for the first time, which is a good investment for all Queenslanders.

“GPs keep people healthy and well and out of hospitals, but their funding has traditionally been a federal responsibility under Medicare.

“We commend the Queensland Government for stepping up to support general practice.

“We also welcome the continued rollout of our Ramping Roundtable recommendations, particularly the measures to help patients move through hospitals faster and be discharged after hours and on weekends.

“However, the devil is in the detail, and we will be examining this budget closely over the next few days.

“This is an election year and we will be looking at the policies and promises from both sides of politics over the coming months.”

The AMA Queensland Budget Submission 2024-25 identified 14 priority areas for attention including workforce, wellbeing, preventative health, climate and sustainability, and women’s and First Nations health. It can be read here.