Minister Commends Victorian Red Cross Patient Transport Service
The Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot, today officially visited the Australian Red Cross Patient Transport Service in Melbourne and commended the staff and volunteers for their commitment to the service and for their invaluable work.
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5 May 2009
The Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot, today officially visited the Australian Red Cross Patient Transport Service in Melbourne and commended the staff and volunteers for their commitment to the service and for their invaluable work.
The Red Cross fleet of 44 vehicles covers 1.3 million kilometres – or 24 times around the world – each year.
About 400 Victorians a week rely on the Red Cross Patient Transport Service to get to their medical appointments as they have no other means of getting there.
Mrs Elliot said: “The service is a vital link in helping older Victorians get from A to B.
“Transport is an important part of daily life which many of us take for granted.
“The service is run by a dedicated army of volunteers who play a crucial role in providing the service for the state’s aged and disabled,” Mrs Elliot said.
“Without this service many of these people would be unable to attend essential medical appointments.
“I commend the dedication of the Victorian volunteers and the Red Cross staff who tirelessly operate this service,” Mrs Elliot said.
Patient transport is one of the first Red Cross services in Victoria. It was established to ensure that soldiers returning from the First World War could make it back to their homes.
Today, it operates from 24 locations throughout the state, providing transport services to people who are isolated or have poor transport options, to allow them to attend essential medical appointments.
Total Funding of $400,000 over two years beginning in 2009/2010 will be provided to the Australian Red Cross by the Australian and Victorian Governments. This will help 20,000 older Victorians to attend medical appointments.
The funding is provided through the Home and Community Care (HACC) program.
Every year HACC assists 250,000 frail older Victorians and younger Victorians with a disability who need domestic help, nursing, allied health such as physiotherapy and podiatry, delivered meals, social support and personal care.
The HACC program in Victoria receives more than $440 million funding, of which $264 million is from the Australian Government.
HACC services include domestic help, home maintenance, delivered meals, personal care and social support to assist both frail older and younger people with a disability to remain living in the community.
In 2008-09 the HACC program will receive $1.79 billion nationally, of which $1.09 billion will be contributed by the Australian Government.
For more information, contact Mrs Elliot's office on 02 6277 7280
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