Investing in health and mental health
This Budget continues the record investment in health and mental health, with a further $3.2 billion to boost the capacity of our hospitals, invest in more nurses and doctors, and improve access to quality care.
WA has the best-funded hospital system in the country, with annual spending on health services increasing by 45% since 2017, and the highest per capita spending on hospitals of any State – 14% above the national average.
Since 2017, we have added more than 4,400 nurses and 1,800 doctors (FTE), and we have delivered 709 new beds in the past three years.
We are now seeing our health system stabilise following the significant disruption of the pandemic, with ambulance ramping down 27% in March compared to last year, and elective surgery wait times down 31% since the pandemic peak.
At a glance:
- $1.2 billion for our public hospital services, to meet the growing demand for services in Western Australia.
- $405 million for health services in the regions, including more funding for regional workforce initiatives and priority programs, such as the Patient Assisted Travel Scheme and Kimberley Ambulance Service.
- $260 million on mental health and alcohol and other drug services, including further investment in suicide prevention initiatives.
- $61 million to build on our previous responses to the recommendations of the Infant, Children and Adolescent Mental Health Taskforce, including extending Acute Care Response Teams and the Crisis Connect service, providing a rapid response to support young people in crisis.
- $155 million for initiatives that will continue to improve emergency access and reduce ambulance ramping.
- $39 million for Child Development Services to deliver an increase in assessment and intervention services.
- $839 million in additional infrastructure investment, bringing total investment to $3.3 billion. This includes funding for the redevelopments of Bunbury Regional Hospital, Geraldton Health Campus, and Peel Health Campus, as well as the roll-out of the Electronic Medical Record Program.