The extra money for hospitals comes ahead of an expected spike in COVID-19 cases and just days after the state's auditor-general raised concerns about an 'unsustainably high' workload in the hospital system.
The Queensland government will direct an extra $200 million to help the state's hospitals tackle an ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the money would go towards dealing with COVID cases in the state and relieving pressure on the health systems caused by the surge in patients.
Mr Worrall's Health 2021 report also follows a recent email from Queensland Health director-general John Wakefield to department staff pledging to tackle burnout and workload pressures in 2022 among other "areas for improvement".Yesterday, Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the Omicron strain could become the dominant COVID variant in Queensland within days"Forty-two may seem like a relatively small number, but you will recall this is double the number we saw just 48 hours ago," he said.Money directed to out-of-hospital, virtual careincreased costs in responding to rising COVID cases;virtual care hubs such as Health Direct helplines and online portals.
The injection of funds comes after last week's Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review revealed net debt lower than expected due to a surge in coal royalties and stamp duty receipts.
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