Canberra is set to be home to a residential eating disorder centre worth $13.5 million, part of a $52 million health package for the ACT announced by the government ahead of Tuesday’s budget.
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The centre will provide in-patient specialist care for people with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Currently adults who need residential care often travel to Sydney for treatment.
A $13.5 million expansion of the Intensive Care Unit at Canberra Hospital is the other big ticket item to be announced by Health Minister Greg Hunt and ACT Senator Zed Seselja on Friday morning. The extra money is expected to provide between six and eight extra beds in the unit.
Almost $10 million will be spent on youth mental health measures, including a second Headspace centre for Canberra, which will cost $3.4 million.
As well as the centre, $6 million will be spent on a Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Project through a online portal and a mental health awareness program to be delivered through schools.
The portal will allow young people and their families and friends to find all the relevant information in one place to get the help they need, Senator Seselja said.
Drug and alcohol addiction programs will be funded to the tune of $7.9 million, including a community withdrawal support service run by registered nurses in partnership with doctors and other services.
More than $4 million will go to expanding and modernising alcohol and drug rehabilitation through community-based residential services, increasing the number of beds available.
Following damning revelations leading to the royal commission into the aged care sector, $3.7 million is set to be spent on embedding pharmacists in aged care facilities in order to increase the safety of residents.
"This will deliver thousands of new hospital services to patients across Canberra and the surrounding region, providing the lifesaving services people need," Mr Hunt said.
"This investment will help to address the growing demand for hospital services in the ACT."
"This significant funding package for the ACT provides additional support in those areas where we can make a difference," Senator Seselja said.
Senator Seselja said he was glad to see the investment in the ACT health system, describing the eating disorder centre as a "critical investment to ensure Canberrans have access to the health services they need".
"I am particularly grateful to be announcing $13.5 million for an expansion of the ICU in Canberra Hospital, delivering much needed beds for patients in Canberra who need them," he said.
The full package announced on Friday is worth $68 million, including $6 million for a previously announced MRI license for Calvary Hospital in Bruce and $10 million for the Phenomics Translation Centre at the Australian National University.
The announcements come days before the budget and are likely to form part of the Liberal party's pitch for re-election as part of the impending campaign. Senator Seselja will be hoping to see off campaigns from the union movement, the Greens and independents in his bid for re-election to the Senate.
