The Morrison Government will invest up to $24 million in research to improve acute care systems and reduce waiting times in hospital Emergency Departments (ED).
EDs are an essential component of Australia’s health care system, with most Australians relying on their local emergency department to provide care for urgent medical needs, 24 hours a day.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2021 report on Emergency Department Care shows that despite declines during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, presentations to public hospital emergency departments in every state and territory continue to rise by an average of 3.2 per cent a year.
New approaches are needed to enable EDs to cope more effectively with the increasing number of people presenting for treatment, including older people with chronic and complex conditions.
The grant opportunity announced today will support medical research and innovation projects in each state and territory that develop and implement evidence-based, scalable clinical models of care to improve acute care and reduce pressure on Australia’s emergency departments.
Up to $3 million will be provided for the top research proposal in each state and territory, to ensure the research provides nationwide benefits.
Applications will open 7 February 2022, with the successful research projects announced by early May 2022, to ensure programs can commence this winter.
The grants will be funded from the Medical Research Future Fund’s (MRFF) Emerging Priorities and Consumer Driven Research Initiative.
The $20 billion MRFF is a long-term, sustainable investment in Australian health and medical research, helping to improve lives, build the economy and contribute to the sustainability of the health system, which ensures a guaranteed funding stream to support Australia’s best and brightest health researchers.
Original content from The Hon Greg Hunt MP media page. Note: Content has been edited for style and length.
Nina Alvarez is a Content Producer for Healthcare Channel. Her interests include writing, particularly about the healthcare sector and the many ways it can improve to further benefit people from all walks of life.
