Australian Diabetes Council strongly opposes any cuts to funding for diabetes care.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Australian Diabetes Council today expressed strong concern about any potential or proposed cuts by future Governments to the recently announced $449 federal funding for diabetes management and care services.
“This must not be a case of the diabetes support suffering to fund other health issues. We need to ensure that all areas of health get adequate funding to support the care of their patients”, said Dr Neville Howard, President of Australian Diabetes Council.
“We are seeing 275 cases of diabetes in Australia everyday and another person diagnosed every seven minutes. That’s over 100,000 cases over the past 12 months. It’s a serious pandemic that the current health system and funding for diabetes can not cope with.”
While Australian Diabetes Council has previously expressed concern about the diabetes program announced by the Government and support for an alternative proposal by the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Dr Howard wants Government, diabetes consumers organisations and health professionals to work together to make a better health system for the one million Australians diagnosed with diabetes.
“Australian Diabetes Council is committed to working with both current and future Governments and all health professional associations to ensure that any programs for diabetes care are in the best interests of all people with diabetes and their carers,” he said.
“We agree with a call on the opposition from other diabetes organisations in this country to match or increase the $449 million funding offered by the Government and outline a plan to address the serious challenge of better diabetes care in Australia. We also strongly support further funding for diabetes prevention initiatives to reduce this growing pandemic.”
Australian Diabetes Council has worked for over 70 years to provide vital support for the diabetes community in Australia. Our aim is the work together to foster a shared voice for diabetes, now and into the future. For more information on our shared voice, call 1300 DIABETES (1300 342 238).