Outpatients benefit from expanded life-support scheme

21/02/07 Hundreds of hospital outpatients suffering serious heart, lung and kidney diseases will benefit from the State Government's decision to expand electricity subsidies for life-support equipment.

21/02/07
Hundreds of hospital outpatients suffering serious heart, lung and kidney diseases will benefit from the State Government's decision to expand electricity subsidies for life-support equipment.
Energy Minister Francis Logan today announced that people who needed to use heart pumps, high-capacity oxygen concentrators or peritoneal dialysis machines at home would now be eligible for a subsidy.
Mr Logan said this would assist people waiting for heart transplants or suffering severe cases of emphysema or kidney failure.
"Receiving critical life-support treatment in the comfort of their homes makes an enormous difference to patients' well-being," he said.
"But they incur significantly higher energy costs and this can cause financial hardship, especially if they are unable to work and are dependent on income support."
Under the expansion to the scheme, patients can now apply for subsidies of:

  • $193 per annum for heart pumps, available retrospectively from January 1, 2005;
  • $590 per annum for high-capacity oxygen concentrators, available retrospectively from March 1, 2006; and
  • $46 per annum for peritoneal dialysis machines from today.
The Minister, who visited Fremantle Hospital's renal unit today, thanked hospitals and patients who had tested equipment to gather the data required to determine related energy costs.
Mr Logan also announced that the first payments had been made through the Thermoregulatory Dysfunction Energy Subsidy Scheme, introduced by the State Government at the start of the year.
"This subsidy helps pay the energy costs incurred by thermoregulatory dysfunction sufferers, who must use domestic heating or cooling systems to control the temperature around them," he said.
"Serious, even potentially fatal, medical consequences are possible for sufferers of the condition if they are subjected to extremes of heat and cold without outside intervention.
"The $335 annual subsidy is enough to pay for the operation of a room-sized reverse cycle air-conditioner for six hours every day of the year. Approximately 1,500 Western Australians are eligible for this subsidy and I urge them all to apply.
"The Carpenter Government has responded to the concerns of Western Australians who need to use electrical equipment to treat severe medical conditions in the comfort of their own homes."
Guidelines and application forms for energy subsidy schemes are available on the Office of State Revenue website http://www.dtf.wa.gov.au/cms/osr_content.asp?ID=359
More information is also available on the Office of Energy website at http://www.energy.wa.gov.au
Minister's office - 9222 8950