By Molly Magennis
A not-for-profit community health organisation, which has a base in Footscray, has expressed disappointment with the lack of funding for community health in the government’s state budget.
On May 3, cohealth released a statement saying that while they supported the governments ‘health-focussed budget’, they felt the community health model, which had stepped up during the pandemic, was neglected yet again.
The community health model involves delivering a variety of social support, medical and allied health services that are combined and easy to access. This model is extremely beneficial for those who may otherwise struggle to access healthcare, which helps to reduce health inequity.
Cohealth chief executive Nicole Bartholomeusz said strengthening the health system requires investment across all of the health sector.
“During the pandemic, community health services like cohealth showed the benefit of our trusted relationship with communities that face barriers to health care, such as refugees and asylum seekers, the elderly, people in public housing and people experiencing homelessness,” she said.
“This budget represented an opportunity to leverage the unique value of community health to make Victoria one of the healthiest places in the world.
“The community health model delivers enormous benefits to people in need and to the broader health system, and I’m disappointed that the opportunity to properly resource this vital work wasn’t recognised in this budget.”
As outlined in the 2022-23 state budget, the government will invest up to $2.9 billion to add capacity and renew infrastructure across Victoria’s health and mental health systems.
