Funding for the ACT's $24 million COVID-19 vaccine program will be carried out for at least the next four years.
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The territory government has allocated $8.2 million as well as $4.5 million of capital to rollout the vaccines to Canberrans this financial year.
That funding is set to increase to $10.8 million during 2021-22, when the vaccine is expected to become available to the wider population after priority workers have received the jab.
While funds for the vaccine rollout will continue into the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years, vaccines won't be distributed in those years.
About $600,000 has been allotted for both financial years, with that to be spent on administration costs and not the vaccines themselves.
Vaccinations are set to begin in Australia from late February.
A further $15.6 million will be spent this financial year on the government's public health response to the pandemic, with almost $10 million of that being allocated to ACT Health.
More than $1.1 million will be spent on hotel quarantine fees alone, with an expected $437,000 to be allocated to the fees in 2021-22.
The budget showed an extension of COVID-19 mental health support with $2 million to be spent on the service to the end of June this year.
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COVID budget measures will also extend to the ACT's top doctor, with more resources allocated to the chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman and her team.
"This includes funding for continued staffing and operational costs for case investigation, contact tracing, medical and public health specialists and quarantine processes," Chief Minister Andrew Barr said on Tuesday.
Health continued to be the biggest area of spending in the 2020-21 budget, with 29 per cent of government funding allocated to it, although the figure is slightly down on the 2019-20 budget, where 31 per cent was earmarked for health spending.
However, budget papers have also revealed ACT Health had fallen behind on many key performance indicators.
Just 51 per cent of all emergency department presentations were seen within clinical timeframes so far this financial year, down from the 70 per cent target set for the year-to-date by ACT Health.
Only one-in-three urgent emergency cases, where patients are seen within 30 minutes, were seen on time this financial year, down from a 75 per cent target rate set by the directorate.
The figures showed 58 per cent of semi-urgent elective surgeries were admitted on time, compared to the year-to-date target of 80 per cent, while the number of non-urgent surgeries seen on time was just 48 per cent, compared to a 93 per cent target.
In non-COVID health measures, a further $15 million will go towards the expansion of Centenary Hospital this financial year, along with an additional $15 million each financial year until 2022-23.
The expansion is set to be complete by September 2023, according to estimates.
The budget also showed $16 million will be spent across the next four financial years on upgrades and refurbishments on Building 10 at Canberra Hospital.
At Calvary Hospital, $6.5 million has been allocated for additional services at the northside hospital, in line with ageing population figures.
The government has set aside $542,000 this financial year for feasibility studies into establishing four new walk-in centres across the ACT.
Locations have been earmarked for south Tuggeranong, west Belconnen, the Inner South and north Gungahlin.
Planning for the new walk-in centres will also include a further $1.4 million in 2021-22.
More than $700,000 has been set aside for a new walk-in centre at Coombs, which will run a pilot program focusing on an alternative model of care, combining GP services with maternal, child and family health.
The pre-existing walk-in centre at Weston Creek, which was used as a COVID-19 testing centre for most of 2020, will also get an outpatient imaging services.
Following an investment of $660,000 in capital this financial year, more than $5 million has been earmarked for 2021-22, which will provide greater access to ultrasounds, X-rays and CT scans at the centre in an effort to take pressure off Canberra Hospital.
An extra $908,000 will go to Palliative Care ACT, to help fund four beds for a respite hub to support Canberrans with life-limiting illnesses.
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Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
