- Young children and teenagers in regional Queensland to benefit from brain and spinal injury research projects.
- Investment of $4.7 million for five projects strengthens post discharge and community based care for brain and spinal injury patients across regional and rural Queensland.
- The Crisafulli Government is delivering easier access to health services and healing Labor's Health Crisis.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering easier access to health services and better support for Queenslanders living with brain and spinal cord injuries, with a raft of new treatment and research projects primarily aimed at young children and teenagers living in regional parts of the State.
After a decade of decline under Labor saw brain and spinal treatments largely centralised in the South East, five new research projects will look to expand services and improve outcomes for regional Queenslanders.
It's just one of the ways the Crisafulli Government is delivering health services when you need them and healing Labor's Health Crisis.
The new Research and Education Advancing Care in Health (REACH) grants program will back five clinical and research teams across the State with a total investment of $4.7 million.
One of the recipients, Back to Belonging, is a 12-month program which will provide hands on assistance for North Queensland parents with young children who have suffered a brain or spinal injury.
Practitioners will stay with families after they are discharged from hospital and help deliver ongoing treatment while trying to get life back to as normal as possible for patients.
The five projects were selected based on their statewide impact, strong clinical and research collaboration, and long-term outcomes, making sure funding is directed to initiatives that deliver real results.
The projects delivered by the grants will complement the Government's networked approach to spinal cord injury services, and are designed to support timely and equitable access to specialist medical, nursing and allied health care for adults and children.
Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training Ros Bates said the Crisafulli Government was delivering for patients in need.
"The Crisafulli Government said we would put patients first and strengthen frontline services, and that is exactly what we are delivering," Minister Bates said.
"Too many Queenslanders were left to navigate recovery on their own during a decade under Labor, which is why we are backing our clinicians and research teams to develop ways in which we can deliver better care and better outcomes."
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Tim Nicholls said the projects reflected the Crisafulli Government's commitment to deliver health services when you need them.
"This is about backing our local clinicians and researchers to deliver better care in more places," Minister Nicholls said.
"These projects will help Queenslanders with brain or spinal cord injuries on the road to recovery, to access care closer to where they live, after they are discharged from hospital."
Senior Staff Specialist, Paediatric Rehabilitation Associate Professor Margot Bosanquet said the Back to Belonging project focused on strengthening care in the critical year after children return home from hospital.
"Townsville University Hospital is a major paediatric trauma centre for North Queensland and cares for more than a quarter of Queensland's severe paediatric trauma cases, yet access to specialist rehabilitation and coordinated transition support has been limited," Associate Professor Bosanquet said.
"Too often, families describe the period after discharge as the point where support drops away and coordination becomes hardest.
"This pilot is designed to bridge that gap by providing dedicated transition coordinators in Townsville, supported by a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team delivering intensive day rehabilitation at Townsville University Hospital, as well as home and school-based outreach."
