Pharmacists welcome record Qld health budget to boost workforce and help patients leave hospital sooner
The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) has welcomed the Queensland Government’s $28.9 billion health budget to tackle healthcare workforce shortages and boost hospital productivity through patient-focused programs, and additional funding of $13 million over two years to expand and implement the Queensland Pharmacy Scope of Practice Pilot.
Announced today by the Miles Labor Government, Budget 2024-25 includes investment toward an additional 4,000 healthcare employees and a $27.8 million investment to expand hospital discharge initiatives and patient flow as part of its Putting Patients First plan, which SHPA President Tom Simpson says is critical to ensuring patients can leave hospital sooner.
‘SHPA has collaborated with members of the Queensland Directors of Pharmacy Senior Assembly to get the Queensland Partnered Pharmacist Medication Prescribing (QPPMP) Project off the ground, and we are very pleased with progress to date.
‘Sponsored by the Office of the Chief Allied Health Officer, QPPMP is exactly the type of program that supports the government’s Putting Patients First plan by reducing the amount of time a patient needs to spend in hospital.
‘We know that when hospital pharmacists prescribe medicines in partnership with doctors, this leads to safer hospital care by significantly reducing prescribing errors.
‘Pharmacist-led prescribing models reduce the length of hospital admission by 10%, ensuring patients are not stuck in emergency departments or overflow areas for too long waiting for a bed.
‘We are thankful to the Queensland Government for its support of this initiative and its commitment to optimising patient care by harnessing the specialty skills of hospital pharmacists, safely expanding their scope of practice in line with other jurisdictions.
‘We also acknowledge the much-needed funding boost to the healthcare workforce, knowing that any boost to the allied health sector, alongside initiatives like QPPMP, will go a long way to freeing up more time for supporting doctors, nurses and pharmacists to dedicate to patient-facing care.
‘On behalf of our Queensland members and their colleagues, we’d like to congratulate Premier Miles and Minister Fentiman on this year’s investments in health and look forward to ongoing collaboration to improve hospital capacity and patient care through advanced pharmacy practice.’