Latest wins: President and CEO update - September 2024
Health is proving to be a major campaign issue as the state election nears and AMA Queensland is carefully monitoring and analysing policies for their potential impact on our healthcare system.
Health is proving to be a major campaign issue as the state election nears and AMA Queensland is carefully monitoring and analysing policies for their potential impact on our healthcare system.
We continue to work with all sides of politics to improve health services and guarantee patient safety.
On the topic of elections, current AMA Federal Vice President Dr Danielle McMullen will take up her new role as AMA President next month.
Dr McMullen is a highly respected leader in the health landscape, who now lives and works in Queensland.
RECENT WINS
Public education around satellite hospitals
The state government has modified its language around satellite hospitals to emphasise that they are not designed for serious emergency treatment.
AMA Queensland has been calling for an education campaign on the levels of care offered at health facilities around the state.
Queensland Health data continues to show seriously ill patients are presenting to satellite hospitals when they need an emergency department (ED).
This not only causes a lot of distress for patients and their families but puts additional pressures on our health workforce and facilities.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman has now stressed that satellite hospitals have Minor Injury and Illness Clinics, not emergency departments, and promised to work with AMA Queensland to improve public education about the facilities.
The community is also understandably confused by the new federally funded urgent care clinics and state-funded nurse-led clinics, which further stretch our overburdened workforce.
Education is important but will not fix the root cause of the problem – gross underinvestment in general practice over decades from both levels of government.
We will continue to advocate for greater investment in best practice health care across all levels of government.
Read the transcript with Minister Fentiman
Whooping cough
AMA Queensland and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman recently joined forces to urge Queenslanders to take advantage of free vaccinations.
GPs and our emergency departments are on the frontline as respiratory illnesses sweep through our communities.
This year we are repeatedly seeing concerned parents present with young children suffering severe symptoms from whooping cough while vaccination rates remain low.
2024 alone has seen more than 7,000 confirmed cases of whooping cough compared to just 104 in the same period last year.
While childhood vaccination rates for whooping cough remain above 90 per cent, the proportion of pregnant Queenslanders taking up the free vaccine under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) has fallen to 70.7 per cent.
Immunisation during pregnancy is crucial to protect newborn babies and this 6.5 per cent decrease over the past two years is concerning.
Doctors know cost can be a barrier to accessing healthcare, especially preventive health.
We encourage all practitioners to talk to expecting parents about vaccination while vaccines remain free and whooping cough cases continue to rise.
AMA Queensland Foundation Charity Gala
Oh, what a night! The AMA Queensland Foundation has raised $140,000 for family violence support services thanks to its generous donors and annual Charity Gala held on Saturday 17 August.
Guests gathered at the Boom Boom Room in Brisbane City for a night of drinks and heart-warming stories where they were invited to bid on auctions to support the cause.
Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM, Governor of Queensland was in attendance to present the Foundation's Medical Student Scholarships and award the GPTQ Bursary recipients for 2025.
Goachagorn Darathai, Taylor Edgley, Wylie Leeson and, in collaboration with the Indian Medical Association Queensland (IMAQ), Anna Duan were awarded $10,000 scholarships to assist them to achieve their ambition to become doctors.
Four GPTQ Bursaries of $20,000 were awarded to Associate Professor Ewen McPhee and Drs Lisa Fraser, Rowan Gibbs and Naomi Penna to support their future training initiatives and research relevant to general practice.
ADVOCACY EFFORTS
Concerns remain around physician’s assistant proposals
We have provided feedback on Queensland Health's proposal to employ more physician’s assistants (PAs) in our public hospitals.
Queensland has a critical shortage of doctors, nurses, and allied health specialists across the whole health system.
But band-aid fixes, such as creating new and unproven roles like PAs, has the potential to worsen this crisis and reduce patient safety.
PAs usually perform tasks currently undertaken by our junior doctors as part of their essential training.
Reducing the opportunities available for junior doctors could threaten our future medical workforce pipeline.
Requirements for senior medical officers to supervise PAs also risks limiting access for doctors in training.
There is no university program for PAs in Australia, meaning they are likely to be recruited internationally, including from the UK and USA.
PAs are not registered under Ahpra and competency standards are still unclear, raising concerns about patient safety.
We need long-term solutions to attract and retain our existing health workforce.
This is the most effective way to ensure ongoing and high-quality healthcare for all Queensland patients.
Pharmacy ownership laws
A newly established Pharmacy Business Ownership Council has taken over the power to issue, change, suspend and cancel pharmacy business licences from Queensland Health.
Originally proposed to comprise members with expertise in law, accounting and business management, with members representing the pharmacy sector and the community, instead, nearly all members appointed have conflicts of interest as pharmacists or pharmacy owners.
Queensland already has the most anti-competitive pharmacy ownership laws in the country, and this Council will only further reduce competition, meaning Queenslanders will be forced to pay more for medicines.
The council has been established against the advice of the Productivity Commission, the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Heath Council, the RACGP, and AMA Queensland.
Estimated to cost Queensland taxpayers $9.8 million for the next four years, it is unnecessary, anticompetitive and expensive. AMA Queensland continues to advocate against this decision for the sake of all Queensland patients and communities.
Ahpra registration fees
AMA Queensland joined with AMA Victoria in May to call on Ahpra for equity in registration fees for practitioners taking parental leave.
This included promoting a petition launched by AMA Victoria.
On 16 August at the Health Ministers Meeting in Sydney, Health Ministers met with Ahpra CEO Martin Fletcher to discuss the petition and its call to reduce registration fees for practitioners during parental leave.
Ministers noted that Ahpra is reviewing registration fee arrangements and Ahpra agreed to report back to Health Ministers as a priority.
The petition has nearly reached its goal of 4,000 signatures. Help us make this a reality by signing the petition.
MEDIA
UnitingCare ending its contract with AHSA
In response to UnitingCare announcing it is ending its contract with the Australian Health Service Alliance (AHSA), we spoke with ABC Radio Brisbane to call for renegotiations.
Private hospital groups are at loggerheads with private insurers over contractual agreements, but it is policyholders who are set to suffer the consequences.
This decision will leave more than two million policy holders, including over 500,000 Queenslanders, in the lurch from 20 November 2024.
These disputes undermine the confidence that Australians have in private health insurance arrangements, particularly at a time of premium increases alongside rising cost of living pressures.
We are calling on both parties to get back to the negotiating table for the sake of patients and the future of private hospitals.
OUR CAMPAIGNS
2024 Resident Hospital Health Check
Each year, ASMOFQ, in collaboration with AMA Queensland and its Committee of Doctors in Training, surveys Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) throughout Queensland, including Interns, Junior House Officers, Senior House Officers and those on Continued Residency.
The anonymous Resident Hospital Health Check (RHHC) survey provides RMOs the opportunity to have their voices heard regarding access to professional development leave, hours of work and overtime, hospital facilities and workplace culture including bullying and harassment.
Thanks to all the junior doctors who have attended our hospital visits and supported this year’s RHHC survey. The more responses we receive, the better we can drive positive change for junior doctors in all Queensland hospitals.
The survey closes on Friday 12 September. The report card will be published in the coming months.
Surgical Waitlist Roundtable update
AMA Queensland’s Surgical Wait List Roundtable held its fifth meeting on 27 August.
The Roundtable is reviewing the latest data, current strategies and policy approaches to address the increasing elective surgery wait lists and the consequences on emergency departments and our public health system.
It is on track to release its Action Plan on 11 September, ahead of the October state election.
