6 years ago
ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO A HEALTHY HEART
Senator the Hon. Bridget McKenzie
A range of initiatives are making it easier for Australians with cardiovascular disease living in rural and remote Australia to access the care and treatment they need.
The Minister for Rural Health, Senator Bridget McKenzie, today inspected one such initiative – the Heart of Australia truck.
The Heart of Australia truck is a mobile cardiac clinic service that travels to locations in regional, rural and remote Queensland. The Coalition Government has been an important supporter of the truck, last year providing one-off funding of $1 million to Heart of Australia Pty Ltd as the program becomes self-sustainable. The Coalition Government has also contributed towards the fitout of the truck.
“Heart disease is the single leading cause of death in Australia and is responsible for a death every 30 minutes. It is estimated over 400,000 Australians have had a heart attack at some time in their lives,” Minister McKenzie said.
“Prevention, early detection, treatment and management of heart disease are a high priority for the Coalition Government.”
“Part of this work must involve addressing the barriers that some Australians face when it comes to accessing care and treatment. A major challenge is ensuring that people who live in regional Australia are able to access care without having to travel considerable distances.
“Heart of Australia plays a vital role in providing appropriate and timely care to rural, remote and regional communities, including those with a large Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.”
Minister McKenzie said the Coalition Government was providing outreach services nationally with more than $82.9 million being provided to the Rural Health Outreach Fund, which improves access to medical specialists, GPs, allied and other health professionals. $7.7 million of this funding has being provided to CheckUP Australia which has been working closely with the Heart of Australia program.
“Appropriate and timely care can have a significant impact to reduce the severity and incidence of cardiovascular disease,” Minister McKenzie said.