Range and Types of Health Facilities and Services

Range and Types of Health Facilities and Services

Range and Types of Health Facilities and Services Health-care facilities and services play a vital role in achieving better health for all Australians. They provide the essential services of: • Diagnosis • Treatment • Rehabilitation • Care of people with illness and injury

Range and Types of Health Facilities and Services • The health of Australians depends not only on the provision of quality health-care services and facilities, but also on factors such as housing, employment, education, hygiene, income and environmental safety. • For health-care services and facilities to be effective in both curing and preventing disease, the health-care sector must develop partnerships with other sectors of the community to implement health-related activities that promote health.

Institutional Hospitals • Provide general and specialised healthcare. • Public – operated and financed by the government, healthcare is free of charge to patients - Example: Wagga Base Hospital • Private – owned and operated by individuals and community groups. Service is paid for by the patients, although Medicare and private health insurance refund most of the expense. - Example: Calvary Hospital

Institutional • If patients choose to be in a public ward in a public hospital, then they are allocated a doctor by the hospital and provided with a bed — all free of charge. • If they choose private treatment, either in a public or private hospital, then they may choose their own doctor but must pay for the service and accommodation provided by the hospital and the doctor. - Medicare and any private health insurance of the patient will refund much of this expense.

Institutional Nursing Homes • Provide care and long term nursing attention to the chronically ill, elderly and people with disabilities, eg, Loreto Home of Compassion in Ashmont. • Private • Public • Private Charitable eg. Anglicare • The Federal Government provides most funding for Nursing Homes

Institutional Psychiatric • Treatment for people with severe mental disorders, system of care integrates hospital services and community settings.

Non Institutional Medical • Services provided by Doctors, Specialists and other health professionals. General Practitioners (GP’s) are the most commonly used service. • Specialists have expertise in a particular field and examples include obstetricians, dermatologists and orthopaedic surgeons.

Non Institutional Health Related • Include other services such as dentistry, optometry, nursing, ambulance and physiotherapy.

Non Institutional Pharmaceuticals: • Medication is supplied through prescription from doctors or hospitals or over the counter from shops or pharmacies. Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme drugs are subsidized by the federal government for people with special needs. • The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) lists all of the medicines available to be dispensed to patients at a Government-subsidised price.

Inquiry Access to Hospitals • For elective surgery, access to private hospitals is almost immediate. Yet some waiting lists for elective surgery in public hospitals are over a year long. • Make points for and against (2 each) for the equity of access to public and private elective surgery in terms of social justice principles. • Eliminating inequity • Promoting inclusiveness of diversity • Establishing supportive environments