Government Must Act to Safeguard Standards Set By Surgeons
The Federal Government must act decisively to protect the high standards of surgery in Australia by preserving the training and education role of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today.
The call comes as the ACCC claims the college's training and entry arrangements breach the Trade Practices Act.
"Standards of surgery in Australia are among the world's best," Dr Phelps said.
"But that doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of the calibre of the training programs run by RACS.
"The AMA supports the principles of competition policy - but the pure application of competition policy to health care will put quality - and ultimately lives - at risk.
"Australia's medical colleges work closely with the Australian Medical Workforce Advisory Committee to ensure the number of doctors being trained matches the anticipated demand for their services.
"The colleges don't artificially restrict supply in order to boost incomes. They work co-operatively with AMWAC to meet the anticipated level of need.
"Other factors include the availability of State-funded registrar training positions and the availability of skilled surgeons as teachers," she said.
"The Federal Government should act decisively to ensure that the high standards set by the college are not put at risk by an open slather approach to competition policy.
"No matter what the economists claim, providing high quality medical care is not like selling hamburgers. Health is not a purist's market place and should not be treated as such.
"The sooner the advocates of competition policy acknowledge this the better," Dr Phelps said.