$2.1 Million Clinical Teaching Facility for Mildura

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PDF printable version of $2.1 Million Clinical Teaching Facility for Mildura (PDF 19 KB)

30 March 2010

Today, the Minister for Rural and Regional Health, Warren Snowdon, officially opened the Monash University School of Rural Health's new $2.1 million clinical training centre at Mildura in Victoria.

The Rudd Government has invested almost $1.7 million in the new facility with contributions also made by the Victorian Government, and Monash University.

Mr Snowdon said the facility highlighted the level of expertise and opportunity that could be provided in regional settings.

“This centre is a state of the art facility. It allows teaching staff to create realistic simulations of challenging health scenarios. This includes an artificial patient which is controlled via a computer and can simulate disease conditions, so students can work with it.

“These are scenarios that would rarely be seen in clinical practice in the region so students are getting a higher level of hands on experience and confidence,” Mr Snowdon said.

“The facility brings together students from a range of disciplines – medicine, nursing and other specialty areas – who can hone their skills as individuals and as members of a broader team working together for the wellbeing of others,” Mr Snowdon said.

The facility will also provide refresher courses and training opportunities for qualified health professionals.

In addition, Mr Snowdon announced Monash University will receive a further $450,000 to refurbish primary care teaching facilities in Mildura, Bendigo and Castlemaine.

It is one of twenty two projects worth a total of $33 million that are being funded across the country under the Government’s Rural Education Infrastructure Development Pool.

In 2009, a total of 109 medical students undertook their clinical training at the School of Rural Health. This included 43 students undertaking a full year of training in Mildura.

Since 2001, when Monash University joined the Rural Clinical Schools (RCS) Program, the Australian Government has provided more than $55 million toward its operation and facilities.

These investments are part of the Rudd Government’s commitment to delivering better health services and better hospitals.

No rural and regional hospital will be forced to close because of reforms being implemented as part of the Rudd Government’s National Health and Hospitals Network.

It will be funded federally and run locally. An independent umpire will determine the fair price for services, taking into account remoteness and the particular circumstances and health care needs of people living in rural Australia.

We recognise that many smaller rural hospitals face higher staffing and equipment costs, and cannot achieve the economies of scale that large hospitals can.

To ensure that rural hospitals with low patient throughput can continue to deliver vital services, we will also ensure that they are funded through block grants where needed.

Media contact: Alice Plate 0400 045 999