Pioneering Health Projects To Provide World-Class Care

The Andrews Labor Government is supporting pioneering projects that will change the way Victorian patients receive world-class care.

Acting Minister for Health Luke Donnellan today announced the projects included as part of the latest $1.7 million Better Care Victoria Innovation Fund.

The fund draws on Victoria’s best and brightest minds to find new and more effective ways to treat more patients, sooner – and with the latest tools and techniques modern medicine has to offer.

The projects drive innovation, efficiency and productivity – improving patient care and treatment.

One of the projects from the latest round of funding, the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Younger Onset Dementia Service, is all about using telehealth to ensure rural and regional Victorians with Young Onset Dementia can access tailored, flexible and expert services – without costly and inconvenient trips to Melbourne.

The project will expand the specialist service across rural and regional Victoria using the latest telehealth technology, so that rural patients can access specialist services from home or their local health service.

Other projects include an initiative being led by Monash University aims to increase the uptake of flu and whooping cough vaccinations among pregnant women at maternity services across Victoria and a ground-breaking project by the Austin Hospital aimed at better identifying and preventing delirium while in hospital.

A project funded in north-east Victoria will develop an age-friendly approach to care across the Indigo Shire. It will work with experts in the United States and locals to improve care for older people.

Meanwhile, Austin Health and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre will introduce testing for patients reported to have an allergy to common antibiotics.

In total, the Labor Government has invested $45 million in the Better Care Victoria Innovation Fund.

As noted by Acting Minister for Health Luke Donnellan

“We’re drawing on Victoria’s best and brightest medical minds and partnering with them to deliver new projects that improve treatment and care for Victorians who need it.”

“Younger Onset Dementia can be a devastating condition that affects thousands of Victorians. We’re helping to ensure rural and regional Victorians living with the condition don’t face barriers to treatment.”

“Every day, medicine is changing, and to make the most of it, we need to keep evolving too. These innovative projects ensure Victorians get the high-quality, cutting-edge treatment they deserve.”

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