Exclusive interview with Home Affairs top doc in latest issue of Australian Medicine
The latest issue of the Australian Medicine is now available online and features an exclusive interview with Dr Parbodh Gogna, the Chief Medical Officer with the Department of Home Affairs.
In the interview, Dr Gogna outlines what the role of Chief Medical Officer with the Department of Home Affairs entails, such as overseeing a system that conducts about 920,000 medical checks a year from around 9 million temporary visitors, and protecting Australia from diseases and pandemics. Asylum seekers only take a portion of his time, despite the significant media attention.
In a discussion about the issue of the health of asylum seekers in offshore detention, Dr Gogna says that the department follows the laws of the land. “We’re agnostic. We will follow the law that’s given down to us.”
Dr Gogna is a long-standing member of the Australian Medical Association, and once sat on the AMA WA Council as its Rural GPs representative.
Elsewhere in the latest edition, AMA President Dr Tony Bartone has again outlined the AMA’s main requests in the pre-Budget submission. Dr Bartone repeated his call for the Government to include “a significant, long-term funding commitment to primary health care, led by general practice” in the upcoming budget, and for both parties to make commitments to primary care ahead of the upcoming election.
Dr Richard Kidd, Chair of the AMA Council of General Practice, also highlighted the significance of general practice funding in the AMA’s strategies for 2019 in his article Strengthening general practice.
The latest issue also provides a reflection on the impact mandatory reporting laws on rural doctors, a summary of the Medivac Bill, updates on research, political news, and a contemplation on who the queen of rock and roll is.
