South-West families benefit from improved health services

A Liberal-National Government election commitment will be fulfilled today with a grant of $701,000 being made to the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society to purchase land to establish a high-care facility in Bunbury.

Health Minister Kim Hames said the grant would enable the MS Society to take the first step toward improving services for people in the South-West of Western Australia who have multiple sclerosis and other degenerative neurological conditions.

"When this new facility is built, it will provide specialised accommodation options for adults who suffer from MS or similar neurological disorders, including people with acquired brain injuries," Dr Hames said.

"Previously, people in this region may have had to live in aged-care facilities or Perth, away from family, friends and their care providers.

"The new care facility will be equipped and operated by the MS Society, which supports people with MS through the supply of professional health care services.

"The land at the corner of Opal Drive and the Boulevard, Australind is approximately 4,000 square metres and allows the society to develop and establish a new facility."

The unpredictable nature of MS and other neurological disorders meant that people required a range of care providers and support services over the course of their lives. The new facility would be equipped to provide these.

The project has resulted from years of work by Bunbury MLA John Castrilli, who has championed the need for a high-care accommodation facility for young people in the South-West.  Mr Castrilli said the facility would offer a boost to healthcare for the entire region.

"While the facility will be located in the greater Bunbury area, it will offer an option for multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorder sufferers in the South-West, who would otherwise be forced to leave their families," Mr Castrilli said.

MS Society Chief Executive Officer Marcus Stafford said the project showed a healthy partnership between the MS Society and the State Government.

"This project demonstrates how a strong partnership between the State Government and the MS Society can bring large-scale plans to fruition to benefit many across the community," he said.

"We are delighted to be able to operate a quality residential facility of this nature and are excited about the prospects of doing so."

The MS Society has also recently been awarded an additional $200,000 over three financial years by the State Government to expand the services it offers.

The Minister said the project showed the Government's ongoing determination to its Health Services Development Fund.

"A key commitment made by this Government is to ensure people are able to receive the care and medical treatment needed, as close as possible where they live," he said

"The Health Services Development Fund has committed $24million across four years for healthcare infrastructure projects in non-metropolitan areas to help facilitate this."