The Andrews Government is giving Ballarat Hospice and Ballarat Health Services extra support to assist them in their care of local patients nearing the end of their lives.

The Member for Wendouree, Juliana Addison, today announced a $212,500 grant to help the two organisations in their critical role of supporting local patients to enjoy the best possible quality of life.

Ms Addison said the funding will go towards the development of new procedures in Ballarat to support people who want to die at home amongst family and friends.

“Ballarat Hospice and Ballarat Health Services both play a pivotal role in making sure patients at the end of their lives are cared for in the manner they deserve,” she said.

“We’re helping improve palliative care services with this important work by giving Ballarat Hospice and Ballarat Health Services the support they need to offer patients the very best care,” Ms Addison said.

Across the state, the Labor Government is investing $9 million towards palliative care infrastructure and innovation grants to improve access to palliative care.

The grants will help our palliative services in the critical role they play, helping patients and their families get excellent palliative care, whether at home, in hospital or in other settings.

This includes supporting providers across the state to expand and bolster their services with initiatives such as a new acute palliative care model in the home, implementing telehealth, a fast-tracked hospital-to-home model of care, or establishing a specialist palliative care clinic.

$3.4 million is going towards infrastructure projects such as buildings works or equipment upgrades. The Government is also investing $5.7 million to back hospital and community-based palliative care services to develop new and innovative models of care.

Palliative care is crucial in ensuring patients nearing the end of their lives receive the best possible care within their local community.

That’s why the Labor Government has boosted hospital and community-based palliative care with $72 million in the Victorian Budget 2019/20.