Big Debate Mystery the Case of the Missing Health Policies
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, expressed disappointment today that neither leader chose to discuss their plans for the future health of the nation in last night's Leaders' Debate.
Dr Capolingua said it is hard to believe that health hardly rated a mention from either side of politics throughout the 90-minute debate.
"Health issues have been hogging the headlines for weeks right around the country, but didn't even rate a footnote last night," Dr Capolingua said.
"The Australian people want to know who is going to remedy their public hospitals and ensure that there are enough doctors in the system to look after them when they are sick.
"The debate offered no answers. As a guide to health policy, it was sadly lacking."
Dr Capolingua said the AMA would spend the next five weeks pushing for Mr Howard and Mr Rudd to answer the following questions:
- Will you commit to bridging the 17-year life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and the rest of the population by promising at the very minimum an extra $460 million a year in new funding for primary care Indigenous health services?
- Do you promise to increase the Commonwealth contribution to public hospital funding by $3 billion in the first year (2008-09) and commit to indexation of 8-9 per cent annually in the next Australian Health Care Agreement?
- Will you provide substantial additional incentives to train, attract and retain GPs and specialists in rural, regional and remote Australia, and fund and maintain country hospitals so as to enable country Australians to enjoy medical services at a level more equal to those available to city patients?
- Will you invest substantially and strategically in aged care to cope with an ageing population in greater numbers and with greater health needs, and to encourage more GPs to visit aged care facilities?
- Will you provide leadership, funding and innovative public health programs to improve nutrition and encourage exercise to combat the obesity epidemic that is engulfing the Australian population, especially our young people?
- Will you provide the infrastructure and resources needed to provide quality clinical training - in both public and private settings - for the large number of medical students currently enrolled in medical training?
These issues and more are detailed in the AMA's Key Issues for the 2007 Federal Election publication.