Australian Medical Association

AMA Federal Councillor and AMA NT President, Dr Paul Bauert, said today that the Australian Government could learn a lot from the experiences of non-government organisations (NGOs) internationally about how best to make real improvements in Indigenous health.

Dr Bauert is this week attending the United Nations Advance Global Health Conference in Melbourne.

The Productivity Commission is conducting an inquiry into Caring for Older Australians.

The AMA submission to the inquiry is based on existing AMA policy and general themes discussed at a consultation convened by the AMA between the Productivity Commission and AMA member geriatricians, old age psychiatrists, general practitioners, and rehabilitation and palliative care specialists on 2 July 2010.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that it is unacceptable that the major parties are yet to make significant policy announcements to address the health needs of Indigenous Australians.

Dr Pesce said Indigenous health must be a priority in this election, not an afterthought.

MJA media release - Rates of severe pneumonia in hospitalised Northern Territory Indigenous children are among the highest reported in the world, and reducing this burden of disease should be a national health priority, according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Kerry-Ann O’Grady, Post-Doctoral Training Fellow at the Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, and co-authors conducted an observational study of all hospital admissions for any diagnosis of Northern Territory resident Indigenous children aged between 29 days and under five years from 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2005.

They found that the average annual cumulative incidence of radiologically confirmed pneumonia (World Health Organization protocol) was 26.6 per 1000 population a year, 57.5 per 1000 a year in infants aged 1-11 months, 38.3 per 1000 a year in those aged 12-23 months, and 13.3 per 1000 a year in those aged 24-59 months.

MJA media release - Young Aboriginal adults have 2-11 times higher adverse clinical oral health outcomes than young Australian adults generally, according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Lisa Jamieson, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health at the University of Adelaide, and co-authors compared clinical oral health outcomes of a birth cohort of young Aboriginal adults in the Aboriginal Birth Cohort (ABC) study with those of their age-matched, nationally representative counterparts in the National Survey of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH).

They found that the mean number of decayed teeth was eight times higher in ABC study participants than NSAOH participants, while the prevalence of untreated decayed teeth was 3.1 times higher.

MJA media release - The intended health outcomes of the Northern Territory intervention – improved health and wellbeing and, ultimately, longer life expectancy – are unlikely to be fully achieved, according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

A health impact assessment undertaken by the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA), using methods endorsed by the World Health Organization, predicts potential health outcomes for Aboriginal communities of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER). The NTER was introduced by the Howard Government in 2007 to protect Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory.

AIDA President, Professor Peter O’Mara, said the Association chose to undertake the assessment in response to the deep concern among Aboriginal communities about the lack of community consultation on the introduction of the NTER.

MJA media release -

A former high school teacher and mentor who wants to improve the health of Indigenous people has won the AMA Indigenous Peoples’ Medical Scholarship for 2010.

Karen Taylor was awarded the scholarship by AMA Federal Vice President and Chair of the AMA Indigenous Health Taskforce, Dr Steve Hambleton.

Valued at $9,000 for each year of study, the scholarship provides support and encouragement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying medicine.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that Close the Gap Day is a timely reminder for the Government to get active in developing a comprehensive national plan to achieve Indigenous health equality within a generation.

Close the Gap Day is this year highlighting the urgent need for the Government’s plan to close the Indigenous health gap in genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Dr Pesce said the AMA supports the Close the Gap Day events being held around Australia to encourage the Government to “Get it Right” on closing the gap.

“The $1.6 billion commitment to Indigenous health programs that governments have already made through the Council of Australian Governments is a great beginning, but more needs to be done,” Dr Pesce said.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government announcement of $9.1 million for new Indigenous mothers and baby services as the latest instalment in its commitment to close the gap on Indigenous health inequality by 2030.

Dr Pesce said that every new funding announcement for Indigenous health services will make a difference - however, in regard to overall progress, the AMA endorses the Close the Gap campaign’s Shadow Report, which finds that the Federal Government still lacks a comprehensive plan to fulfil its commitment to close the gap.

“The commitment that all Australian governments have shown to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes and life expectancy provides a tremendous opportunity to make a real difference,” Dr Pesce said.

“We must not waste this opportunity.  The $1.6 billion COAG funding for Indigenous health programs was a good start for closing the gap, and today’s announcement is further good news, but the Shadow Report shows that a more strategic coordinated approach is needed.”