AMA to pursue better care for Defence personnel and veterans

Lieutenant General Leahy, Major General Professor Rosenfeld and Commodore Wallace spoke at the Conference’s Overseas Conflicts and Disasters: the challenge of caring for those who serve session, chaired by new AMA President Associate Professor Brian Owler.

Associate Professor Owler said that, since 1999, more than 45,000 Australians had served overseas, and many had paid a heavy price for their devotion to their duty.

“Members of our armed forces put themselves in harm’s way on a daily basis, facing risks to both their physical and mental health,” the AMA President said. “Doctors have a proud history of caring for our servicemen and women, and we want to improve the care they receive.”

The Conference was told that in Afghanistan alone, 40 Defence personnel were killed and more than 260 wounded in action, many of them seriously.

Lieutenant General Leahy, who is Chair of the Soldier On charity, said changes in the nature of conflict and improvements in medical care, meant that many soldiers were surviving wounds that would once have been fatal, but were returning home with much more severe injuries including, amputations, fractures, hearing loss, traumatic brain injuries and multiple severe wounds.

Commodore Wallace said that, in addition to their physical wounds, many personnel suffered mental disorders. He said research showed anxiety disorders were more common among ADF members than the broader community, with soldiers suffering depressive disorders at twice the rate of all Australians.

Associate Professor Owler said many returned from overseas service with multiple co-morbidities and complex care needs, providing a challenge for carers and health services.

“The medical profession has shown an enormous commitment to the care of ADF personnel and veterans over many years.

“Many doctors have and are serving in the ADF, or are part of the framework of health services put in place by the ADF and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

“But things can be done better, and the AMA is keen to work with the ADF, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and personnel and veterans themselves on ways to improve the delivery and integration of services, so that all get the care they need.”

The resolution passed by the AMA National Conference has called for the development of AMA policy in a number of key areas:

·         research to monitor the health of ADF personnel and veterans injured during ADF operations, to identify emerging health issues and better inform the future delivery of health services;

·         arrangements for seamless health care delivery to ADF personnel and veterans, including the relationship between the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), ADF health services and other health care providers;

·         the development of a unique service/veteran health identifier to improve the coordination of health care for ADF personnel move across to either DVA health care arrangements or Federal/State funded services; and

·         exploring the potential to expand existing non-liability health care arrangements for veterans to a broader range of conditions beyond those currently identified.

25 May 2014

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                            Odette Visser                      02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753

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