$15.4 million for new palliative care initiatives

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29 August 2007
BM39/07

The Australian Government today announced more than $15 million in funding for two new palliative care initiatives.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason, said the Government was providing more than $6 million from 2007 to 2010 to expand the Rural Palliative Care Project.

Officially opening the 9th National Palliative Care Conference, Senator Mason, said the funding would support Divisions of General Practice in regional and rural areas to develop local palliative care service delivery.

“This funding recognises the successful implementation of the previous phase of this project – a pilot of multidisciplinary models of palliative care and continues to acknowledge the pivotal role of general practitioners in the delivery of palliative care in rural and regional areas,” he said.

Earlier, Senator Mason also launched a program of clinical trials of palliative care drugs.

“We are providing funding of $9.46 million for clinical trials for six drugs – Ketorolac, Ketamine, Megace, Octreotide, and Respiradone — through the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative initiative,” he said.

“These trials will help determine which drugs are most appropriate to use for palliative care, giving us important information for the future care of palliative care patients and peace of mind for carers.

“Both these initiatives are further evidence of the Government’s commitment to supporting both those who work in palliative care and palliative care patients,” Senator Mason said.

Media contact: Carolyn Martin 0423 826 768