Health reform agreement – COAG has listened; now give local hospital networks a fair go
AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that it is now up to the Local Hospital Networks to deliver better hospital services for patients and for the States and Territories to support them in the spirit of cooperation that marked yesterday’s COAG agreement.
Dr Pesce said that the Prime Minister had responded positively to the AMA’s calls for a single funding pool, more new funding, and more real hospital beds, and the States are now responsible for making these new resources and services effective in providing better access for patients to quality health and hospital services.
“The funding stream is now more transparent and there is a clearer line of activity based funding from both levels of government direct to hospitals,” Dr Pesce said.
“State governments must strike Local Hospital Network service agreements that enable hospitals to meet the national targets, and not ration funding and resources.
“The setting of the national targets will be very important to the success of the reforms and must be a robust and consultative process.
“The doctors and nurses who are working hard to ensure that the new national targets can be met in their hospitals must be consulted and supported, not pressured by the State bureaucracies.
“Clinicians need to be fully involved in the setting of targets, the development of service agreements, and monitoring of the system.
“There is still a concern, however, that State bureaucracies could seek to control Local Hospital Networks. This would work against the spirit and intent of the COAG agreement and must not be allowed to happen.
“The AMA welcomes the commitment to additional real hospital beds, although the number is well short of what we feel is necessary to fully ease access block. These new beds must be put in place as soon as possible if we are to see real movement to address system blockages.
“The States must implement the additional committed beds and the other new funding initiatives in consultation with local doctors and nurses.
“We are pleased that activity based funds have been quarantined and will be guaranteed to flow straight to local hospitals.
“Block funding for smaller hospitals, teaching and research funding, and major capital funding should be similarly quarantined or it could be diverted from its intended purposes. It is important that this funding is transparent and properly quarantined to be used where it is needed.
“For the hospital reforms to be truly effective, it is vital that general practitioners are adequately resourced and supported to treat people in the community,” Dr Pesce said.
21 April 2010
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