The Andrews Labor Government is investing in 15 ground-breaking projects that will give patients across Victoria better access to higher quality health care, sooner and closer to home.
Visiting Western Health’s Sunshine Hospital today, Minister for Health, Jill Hennessy, announced the first round of projects receiving funding from the Government’s new $10 million Better Care Victoria Innovation Fund.
Better Care Victoria, launched in March this year and led by an independent board chaired by former AMA President Dr Douglas Travis, will drive innovation across the health system to improve patient care and treatment.
The $10 million Better Care Victoria fund will support projects that improve the efficiency and productivity of our health system, improve patient outcomes and reduce waiting times.
At Western Health, more than $270,000 will go towards cutting-edge technology to support nurses to effectively communicate with non-English speaking patients when an interpreter is not available.
The CALD Assist iPad app – developed in partnership with the CSIRO – uses written, audio, pictorial and video representations of phrases to facilitate a two-way conversation between health care workers and non-English speaking patients.
Western Health serves one of the most culturally diverse communities in Australia, with more than 100 patients a day requiring interpreter services.
This innovative technology will mean more CALD patients can be seen sooner – without having to wait for an interpreter – helping to reduce wait times at the hospital.
Our funding boost will further develop the app so it can be downloaded by healthcare workers across all hospitals, meaning more Victorian CALD patients will get the care they need, sooner.
Better Care Victoria was a key recommendation from the Travis Review, the most comprehensive audit ever undertaken into the capacity of Victoria’s hospitals.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Jill Hennessy
“We know we need to do things differently if we want to continue to drive improvement across our health system – and Better Care Victoria will help us do just that.”
“Through the Better Care Victoria Fund we’re drawing on our best and brightest clinical minds to find new, more effective ways to treat more patients, sooner.”
Quotes attributable to Member for St Albans Natalie Suleyman
"We're investing to ensure people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can get the healthcare services they need, without the long waits for an interpreter."
Reviewed 19 August 2020