$767,000 boost to help fund staff positions in new Primary Care Centre MANSFIELD District Hospital board of management has welcomed a boost in State Government funding for the coming year. The government has confirmed the hospitals annual funding will rise to $8.1m for 2015/16 which is an increase of $767,000 on last year. Hospital chief executive officer, Marianne Warren, said the additional funds would go to fund staff positions in the new Primary Care Centre. And it will also provide funding in recognition of increased activity, particularly in the Urgent Care Centre, Ms Warren said. This funding announcement is welcomed by the board and myself and we are pleased that the services provided to people living in and visiting the area has been recognised for increased funding. Jaclyn Symes (MLA, Eildon) said hospitals and health services across the northern region are sharing in a statewide funding boost. She said a total of $15.85 billion is being spent across the entire health system in hospitals, ambulance services, mental health and drugs services, aged care, community health and public health services. Ms Symes said the funding represented an increase of six per cent on the 201415 budget. She said the additional funding will support health services to meet the increasing demands of a growing and ageing population, expand and improve services and care, reduce waiting times and enable an additional 60,000 patients to be admitted to Victorian hospitals and an extra 40,000 patients to be treated in emergency departments. We are providing extra funding to country and regional hospitals, we are building and expanding health services and improving care in our communities, Ms Symes said. The doctors, nurses and staff in each of our northern Victorian health services do such a fantastic job.