Caulfield’s $36 million rehabilitation centre opens

Caulfield Hospital's new Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Rehabilitation Centre will provide Victorian patients with state-of-the-art rehabilitation services, Minister for Health David Davis said today.

 

Opening the 42-bed facility and the nearby off-site four bed transitional living facility, Mr Davis said the $36 million Caulfield Hospital ABI Rehabilitation Centre is a new, much-needed and purpose-built inpatient and rehabilitation facility for ABI patients. 

 

"The Caulfield Hospital ABI Rehabilitation Centre will provide a specialist rehabilitation service accessible to brain injury patients across Victoria and will be complementary to other statewide specialist rehabilitation services," Mr Davis said.

 

Member for Caulfield David Southwick said the new facility will set a benchmark in the standard of care for ABI patients requiring longer-term, slow-stream rehabilitation and recovery from their injuries.

 

"The new facilities and services will deliver extended periods of rehabilitation for people who have experienced a moderate to severe or catastrophic brain injury and will complement and enhance existing ABI services in Victoria," Mr Southwick said.

 

Mr Davis said that approximately every four days someone in Victoria suffers a severe brain injury in a road crash, which results in profound and irreversible changes to their lives.  

 

"Apart from the physical and emotional distress, a severe ABI can cost about $2.2 million in care over a lifetime," Mr Davis said.

 

"The Caulfield Hospital ABI Rehabilitation Centre demonstrates the Victorian Coalition Government's commitment to improving and expanding Victoria's public health infrastructure."

 

Assistant Treasurer Gordon Rich-Phillips said the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) had contributed $9 million towards the new facility and the Commonwealth Government had provided $27 million.

 

The TAC's generous contribution to this facility will ensure that those Victorians who experience the most severe brain injuries in transport accidents will have access to specialised rehabilitation services to improve their long-term prospects and their quality of life.

 

A great many Victorians will benefit from this new facility, ensuring that people affected by road trauma will have improved access to the best care available," Mr Rich-Phillips said.

 

Caulfield Hospital is managed by Alfred Health which is receiving $693.92 million in Victorian Coalition Government funding for 2014/15 – up by $31.85 million on the previous year.

 

Mr Davis said the Napthine Government is building a healthier Victoria with more than $4.5 billion in capital investment at health services across the state.