Aust'n state gov't commits 306 million USD to children's hos

MELBOURNE, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Victorian government has announced it will allocate 306 million U.S. dollars to Australia's leading children's hospital, after the facility recently experienced a huge spike in demand at its emergency department.

The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), located in Melbourne, has seen a 33.3 percent increase in demand in its emergency ward since the start of the year.

About 8,000 children presented to the hospital in May, almost 2,000 more than at the beginning of the year. In comparison, the Emergency Department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital one of Melbourne's biggest had fewer than 6,000 presentations in the last month.

The state Labor Government said on Thursday the RCH would receive 14.4 million U.S. dollars more than it was provided last year, so that more young patients could receive essential care and treatment.

The government's Minister for Health, Jill Hennessy, visited the Royal Children's Hospital on Thursday to announce the budget allocation. "We're putting patients first and delivering record funding for hospitals so more patients can be treated, sooner," Hennessy said while touring the facility.

"This extra funding will support hospitals to expand services, open more beds and carry out more surgeries to meet increasing demand for care across the state, treat patients faster and reduce waiting lists.

"Our dedicated doctors and nurses do a remarkable job. This funding boost gives them the support they need to save lives and keep Victorians healthy."

The state government set aside 10 billion dollars for Victorian hospitals in this year's budget, as part of 16.47 billion dollars to be spent across the entire health system.

The government also announced it would bring forward 1.05 million U.S. dollars from the budget to open a new fast-tracked ward in the RCH Emergency Department so more patients can be seen and go home sooner.

The new unit will have 10 treatment spaces and once up and running, will treat an extra 80 patients a day.