Page 3690 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2013
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design work behind implementing this policy. This is a policy that is delivering for Canberra, providing free health care where it is most needed. That is what Canberrans are asking for.
Of course, we have also seen the funding and recent opening of a great community health cooperative down south, from the West Belconnen Health Co-Op. Having recently opened the health co-op, we see the membership-based, bulk-bill model that has been so popular in west Belconnen now available down south. With access to bulk-billing services always in demand, and with the ACT investing $200,000, we have a new clinic to provide this.
This is only one part of what the ACT government is doing in the Health portfolio, with this adding to the $4.9 million of funding that is included in this year’s budget to continue works upgrading the Tuggeranong community health centre. The Tuggeranong community health centre is delivering a comprehensive range of healthcare services to the local Tuggeranong community. The centre offers services aimed at assisting clients to better manage acute and chronic conditions in the community in a facility closer to home, which is in turn ensuring the reduction of the reliance on our hospital system.
Some of these services that are provided here are: community nursing, including ambulatory care clinics; allied health services such as physiotherapy, podiatry and nutrition; diabetes services, including services for those with gestational diabetes; a nurse educator and dietician; women, youth and children services; adult mental health services; alcohol and drug counselling; and pathology collection.
Upgrading these local community health centres has been a strong priority for this government, ensuring that health services are out in the community and widely accessible to those most in need. This multimillion dollar commitment will ensure that these services continue to work and function long into the next hundred years for us as a territory.
In the last year Brindabella has also seen positives in the education sector, with Taylor primary receiving major upgrades to the well loved building, thus ensuring that students will continue to be catered for through the next several decades. With $13 million invested by the ACT government, we will see state-of-the-art classrooms and an upgraded childcare facility that is due to be available by the start of the 2014 school year.
This government has also taken the opportunity of its first budget to announce $1.8 million for the establishment of a new introductory English centre at the Wanniassa Hills Primary School. The new facility will give students with limited or no English speaking background, who have recently arrived in Australia and Canberra, the opportunity for intensive language tuition before settling into mainstream schools in the Tuggeranong school network. This is yet another way of government ensuring that care is provided for all Canberrans, whatever their individual needs may be. I am proud that this introductory learning centre will be based in Tuggeranong as it continues to grow and develop.
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