Australian Medical Association

On 3 March 2010, the Commonwealth Government announced its National Health and Hospitals Network policy – the first phase of its health reform package. The first phase focuses on arrangements for the funding and governance for public hospitals and primary care.

The Prime Minister also foreshadowed in his speech further initiatives in the future concerning:

• the inadequacy of hospital bed numbers, including specific problems in emergency departments, elective surgery and sub-acute care;
• the expansion of primary care;
• the undersupply of doctors, nurses and other health professionals;
• the inadequacy of electronic health records across the system; and
• preventative health care, aged care, mental health and dental health services.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) had failed to meet widespread expectations that it would reveal some signs of national consensus on meaningful health reform.

Dr Pesce said the health system is under extreme pressure and further delays in reform would exacerbate existing problems, especially in public hospitals.

“The COAG Communiqué states that COAG agreed that long-term health reform was required to deliver better services for patients and the Commonwealth would put specific proposals to the States in the first half of 2010,” Dr Pesce said.

“People are losing confidence because the timeframes keep changing and getting put back

Video of AMA President on SkyNews via bigpondnews.com

Tomorrow’s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting is a crucial opportunity to focus on achieving concrete long-term health improvements for Indigenous people, the AMA said.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) will meet in Darwin tomorrow (Thursday)  to discuss a strategic national plan for closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

AMA Federal President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said it is important that governments develop a national plan for Indigenous health in genuine partnership with Indigenous people and health organisations that know what is needed and what will work.

“The Prime Minister has acknowledged that closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is one of the most significant challenges facing Australia,” Dr Pesce said.

The Federal Parliament's Senate Community Affairs Committee is conducting an Inquiry into the Health Workforce Australia Bill 2009 (the "Bill"). The Commonwealth agreed to establish a new health workforce agency at the November 2008 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting and this Bill seeks to implement that commitment.

The AMA has provided a submission to the Senate Inquiry.

The AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, has written to the Minister for Health and Ageing to seek assurances that there will be sufficient clinical training positions for interns and specialist trainees in the public sector.

As COAG meets today to address the nation’s infrastructure needs, it must include examination of the health system’s capacity to meet the future needs of the community.

AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said with the Federal Budget less than two weeks away, the $5bn currently available in the health and hospital fund should be immediately released as part of the infrastructure stimulus.

AMA President Dr Rosanna Capolingua today welcomed the Federal Government’s recognition of the AMA’s target of 3,750 new beds needed for public hospitals.

AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said media reports on the Federal Government’s opening offer to states on health was “way too thin”.

“The AMA has pushed hard for three things: more hospital beds, proper indexation of funding, and extra training places. The offer on the table falls well short on two of the three requirements.

In order to achieve workforce mobility, reduction of red tape and improved safety and quality the AMA proposes a structure for national recognition of registration of health professions which includes: a Health Registration Authority to advise on processes for recording registration and for maintenance of publicly accessible registers; a Medical National Professional Panel to advise Health Ministers and maintain registration standards; and a Medical State Committee to determine eligibility and category of registration. The AMA believes that the currently proposed COAG model will undermine rather than enhance the high quality standard off healthcare services available in Australia.