2015–16 Activity Statement—Health and Wellbeing

Queenslanders’ vision for health and wellbeing includes, as well as taking personal responsibility for our health and wellbeing, maintaining a health system among the best in the world that supports our quality of life and individual and community wellbeing.  The demand for health services is increasing as Queensland’s population continues to grow and age.

Queenslanders also highly value a natural environment that inspires an active lifestyle and supports healthy communities.

The Queensland Government is focused on providing a comprehensive whole-of-government and whole-of-community approach to ensure that services are patient centred, readily accessible and affordable for all sectors of society.  In 2015–16, the Queensland Government:

Delivering quality frontline services

• Launched a 10-year strategic health framework, My Health, Queensland’s future: advancing health 2026. The framework aims for Queenslanders to be among the healthiest people in the world, and is underpinned by principles of sustainability, compassion, inclusion, excellence and empowerment
• invested an additional $560.6 million to ensure our health and ambulance services continue to provide the highest quality healthcare across the state, and meet the growing demand for services. The investment grew the total operating budget for Queensland Health in 2015–16 to $14.183 billion  
• continued to improve health services across the priority areas of:            

Nursing Workforce

• recruiting 16 nurse educators across Hospital and Health Services to coach, mentor and support up to 4000 additional graduate nurses and midwives to be recruited over the next four years
• recruiting the first 50 of 400 new nurse navigators to facilitate the patient journey across the health sector, and educate patients on their condition and to improve health literacy
• recruiting 31 additional registered nurses to deliver the Primary School Nurse Health Readiness Program
• enacting legislation that mandates nurse-to-patient ratios in Queensland public hospitals

Preventative Health

• delivering the Health for Life! – Taking Action on Diabetes Program targeted at Queenslanders at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes 
• introducing the Public Health (Childcare Vaccination and Other Legislation) Amendment Bill 2015 to protect vulnerable Queenslanders from preventable diseases
• passing legislation to extend the range of smoke-free places in Queensland and to require food business to display the kilojoule content of their food and drinks.
• delivering a range of preventive health initiatives including 10,000 Steps, Heart Foundation Walking Groups and social marketing campaigns to promote consumption of fruit and vegetables
• encouraging Queenslanders to make healthy choices to mitigate health problems before more expensive hospital based care is required

Patient Safety

• establishing the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Service
• engaging the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards to conduct an audit of the patient safety and quality improvement functions of all Hospital and Health Services

Mental Health

• increasing residential rehabilitation care for young people in Townsville through a partnership with Mind Australia
• undertaking the biggest mental health reform in 15 years by overhauling the Mental Health Act 2000, following the introduction of the Mental Health Bill 2015 
• increasing respite care for Queenslanders living with dementia or neurodegenerative conditions,  to support Queensland seniors and to address the needs of their carers

Building safe, caring and connected communities

• provided a safe and reliable drinking water to the Pormpuraaw community with capital upgrades to the water infrastructure and designed and constructed a fit-for-purpose, fit-for-place solid waste facility upgrade at Pormpuraaw
• undertook minor wastewater treatment improvements in Cherbourg and Palm Island
• supported engagement with nature, active lifestyles and wellbeing by hosting a record 1.5 million overnight camper stays on Queensland’s parks and forests
• continued to provide funding support for a partnership between the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health and the Brisbane Broncos to promote healthy lifestyles and ongoing engagement with health services for Indigenous Queenslanders
• implemented organisation-wide communication and training, in support of Recommendation 22 of the Not Now, Not Ever: Putting an End to Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland, a recommendation that communication is implemented through all front-line services
• increased capacity of Queensland Ambulance Service disaster management equipment through the design and purchase of three fit-for-purpose multi-casualty incident trailers strategically located within the Torres and Cape Local Ambulance Service Network
• Implemented trauma-informed practice across all youth justice operations
• continued to work with department partners to develop integrated responses to domestic and family violence in a number of locations including the three trial sites of Logan-Beenleigh, Mount Isa and Cherbourg
• began priority rollout of improved safety equipment for police, with body-worn cameras provided to police on the Gold Coast

Read more about the Plan’s goals, targets and measures for health and wellbeing.