The Queensland Government this week announced that future health priorities and funding in Queensland will be set based on four key priorities following the release of a vision for the Queensland health system.

In a media release issued by the Department of Health, Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services Cameron Dick on Thursday 19th May launched the vision and 10-year strategy for health in Queensland — ​My health, Queensland's future: Advancing health 2026.​

"Advancing health 2026 was a vision for the entire health system but would also serve as a guiding vision for the Department of Health's operation," Dick said.

"This vision is vital in an era of increasing health need and decreasing funding certainty.

"On key measures, Queensland's health system ranks among the best in the world, however, like healthcare systems everywhere, it is facing significant challenges."

Dick said there was a range of pressures on the health system such as demographic changes, growth in chronic diseases, new technology and treatments, and financial pressures.

"We have to face up to these challenges," he said.

"Maintaining the status quo through business as usual is not an option. Health costs are rising and we need to be smarter about how we deliver healthcare into the future.

"It's imperative the entire health system across all sectors work together with a shared vision for the future of healthcare in Queensland."

Dick said the vision identified four key directions and relevant targets for Queensland's health system over the next decade.

The directions are:

• Promoting wellbeing
• Delivering healthcare
• Connecting healthcare
• Pursuing innovation

Key measures of success set for 2026 include:

• Reducing childhood obesity by 10%
• Reducing the rate of suicide deaths in Queensland by 50%
• Increasing life expectancy for Indigenous males by 4.8 years and females by 5.1 years
• Increasing levels of physical activity for health benefit by 20%
• Increasing the availability of electronic health data to consumers
• Delivering a 10-year Health Workforce Strategy
• Increasing the proportion of outpatient care delivered by Queensland Health via telehealth models of care

Dick said setting a vision for health delivery in Queensland was vital given the ageing population, rising levels of chronic disease and the global obesity epidemic, and varying health outcomes for different population groups in Queensland.

"My expectation is that the vision will help guide every major choice made when it comes to how we fund and deliver health services in the public system," he said.

"Today's healthcare is being transformed by innovation and by 2026, healthcare will look very different to what it does today.

"This vision will further drive investment in new ideas, research and technology."

Dick said the vision had been set after widespread consultation with representatives from across the health sector.

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