High quality accessible health and community services
Victoria today
Victorians enjoy excellent health by world standards, and have a long life expectancy. Victoria has an enviable reputation for the quality of its health services.The Government has modernised health and aged care facilities, opened new hospitals and undertaken major redevelopments of existing hospitals. We have increased nurse numbers by over 5,000, and our public hospitals now treat 200,000 more patients each year. Hospital waiting times have improved for emergency and elective patients and the number of ambulance ‘bypasses’ has declined.
Challenges ahead
Despite Victorians’ long life expectancy, our quality of life is affected by ill health. Over the last fifty years, we have seen a shift in people’s ill-health away from infectious diseases and towards lifestyle or behaviour-related illnesses. It is important that Victorians of all ages and abilities are assisted to stay healthy and active. Improvements in medical technology and longer life expectancy will put increasing pressure on health services. And, as our population ages, we need to make sure that our health and community services can meet the needs of all senior Victorians. Despite Victorians’ excellent health overall, Indigenous and poor Victorians have poorer health than others.
Measuring progress
Long-term improvements in the health of Victorians can be measured by how long we expect to live and the quality of life during those years. Over time, this will tell us how effective our public health initiatives have been. Improving the wellbeing of young children can overcome disadvantage and substantially improve their quality of life as adults.Better access to hospital, community health, dental, aged care, mental health, disability, alcohol and drug, and children’s and family support services - particularly in rural and regional communities - is crucial. We will also continue to focus on the quality and accessibility of health and community services, which can be judged by the level of confidence Victorians have in those services.
- The health of Victorians will improve
- The wellbeing of young children will improve
- Waiting times (emergency, elective and dental) will be reduced
- Levels of confidence in health and community services will increase
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