2026 Funding Update

For 2026, the following will be funded in the Hume region:

Expanding Paediatric Outpatient Services in Albury Wodonga – a three-year staged plan to grow paediatric outpatient services will reduce the need for families to travel long distances. New outpatient clinics, telehealth options, and targeted equipment will help children access care locally. The project also focuses on building staff skills and confidence to provide high-quality, sustainable paediatric care across the region.

Newborn and Maternity Equipment for Northeast Health Wangaratta – new neonatal and maternity equipment, including jaundice meters, newborn scales, breast pumps, anaesthesia technology, isolettes and humidification systems, will improve monitoring and care for babies. Targeted onsite staff training will also strengthen the recognition and response to acutely unwell children, improving outcomes for newborns and their families.

Paediatric Training and Emergency Support in Goulburn Valley – staff will complete Advanced Paediatric Life Support and PIPER emergency training to improve care for critically ill children. Additionally, the purchase of vein finders will make IV insertion quicker and less stressful for children, and a Paediatric Nurse Practitioner in the Emergency Department will provide timely assessment and care coordination.

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Building on the funding from 2025

The Hume Region, covering 14 local government areas and home to over 360,000 people, is supported by 15 public health services operating across 22 sites. These services work together through the Hume Health Service Partnership (HSP), a collaborative initiative aimed at improving access to care, enhancing quality and safety, and reducing duplication across the healthcare system. 

More than 5,000 children are admitted to hospital each year for acute care, with the majority of complex cases managed by Albury Wodonga Health, Goulburn Valley Health, and Northeast Health Wangaratta. These hospitals provide both emergency and inpatient paediatric services, making them central to the delivery of children’s healthcare across Hume.

• Piper Paediatric first response and Paediatric advanced life support (PALS) education program – This program roll-out will benefit all 15 health services in Hume and will ensure access to standardised paediatric training that delivers a consistent and high-quality care experience for babies, children and their families across the region.
• Albury Wodonga Health: Enhancing Regional Paediatric Care Program – This funding will enhance local expertise through the Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) training and education for doctors and nurses, including up-skilling anaesthetists and regional GP’s, and specialised nursing education in areas such as paediatric intensive care, stoma care, bladder conditions, diabetes, and eating disorders.
• Goulburn Valley Health: Providing world-leading equipment for paediatric care – The purchase of new equipment, including six new fit-for-purpose cots and a digital baby stadiometer for children with asthma, will further support the delivery of safe and high-quality care for children and young people at GV Health. Funding will also support the purchase of equipment to deliver less invasive treatments, including paediatric-specific equipment, to improve and tailor the care experience for children and young people.
• Northeast Health Wangaratta: Education – Funding to upgrade the physical environment and deliver an improved paediatric-friendly experience for patients and their families. 
• Newborn babies, especially those who are premature or ill, will also benefit from the purchase of an infant transport incubator – a vital piece of equipment providing controlled environment care to unwell infants. 

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Building on the funding from 2024

Albury Wodonga Health

Albury Wodonga Health (AWH) – Hume region AAWH provides care to over 400,000 people across the region. The hospital strives to provide children and young people with the best quality care, as close to home as possible and making high-quality paediatric care for the community more accessible than ever.

• State-of-the-art medical equipment: purchase syringe drivers, vital sign monitors, transport incubators and ultrasound machines, allowing for critical tests to be conducted locally.
• Established a brand-new paediatric hospital-in-the-home program: The Paediatrics At The Child’s Home Program (PATCH) has commenced, with ongoing training and upskilling to occur throughout the year, further enhancing the service.

Goulburn Valley Health

Goulburn Valley Health (GVH) is the main referral health service for the Goulburn Valley, caring for communities across Greater Shepparton through to the Moira and Strathbogie Shires.
Funding has enabled children to receive highly-specialised, life-saving respiratory care within the Goulburn Valley for the first time, thanks to new equipment and training.

• Strengthening nursing care in the emergency department – cover two paediatric emergency nurse practitioner roles for the Emergency Department to help coordinate the assessment and care of sick babies and children.
• Hospital in the home: broaden the capability of its hospital-in-the-home service, offering relevant training and new employment opportunities. This will ensure that clinicians can care for children with complex needs outside a hospital environment, and as close to home as possible.
• Scholarships: empowering GVH’s current nursing workforce with two post-graduate nursing scholarships.

“Thanks to the Good Friday Appeal’s generosity, GV Health has been able to hire a dedicated nurse practitioner candidate for the Shepparton Hospital’s Emergency Department, with recruitment underway for another, as well as support postgraduate nursing scholarships and upskilling of staff delivering Hospital in the Home care.

These initiatives will help to ensure clinicians can care for children largely outside a hospital environment, and closer to children’s homes, thereby improving health and wellbeing outcomes in our region. We appreciate and thank the Good Friday Appeal for this significant support,”

Matt Sharp, Goulburn Valley Health Chief Executive.