Dr Kerryn Phelps, AMA President with Mike Cooper, Radio 3BA FM

I have Dr Kerryn Phelps on the line with me right now.

Good morning to you.

PHELPS: Good morning Mike.

COOPER: Nice to talk to you and it's nice to have you in our neck of the woods. I can't recall an AMA President with such a greater voice as yours has been, over the past several years.

PHELPS: Well I think it's important that the AMA President take that very high profile public advocacy role because I'm in a position where I'm talking to doctors all around the country. I'm talking to patients all around Australia who are telling us what they need in a health system, in terms of the security of their services, public hospitals, aged care, general practice. And I'm in a position to be able to tell the public and tell the government what it is that the health system needs.

COOPER: Well it's certainly good to see you have a hands-on role too. And obviously that's important to you.

PHELPS: Yes it is. I've been an active practicing GP for almost 20 years and I'm still practicing half my week while I'm doing the AMA Presidency. And that is an important part of my working life.

COOPER: What are the needs of areas such as Ballarat and what problems are we facing?

PHELPS: Well I think Ballarat has some of the problems that are seen in a lot of the larger regional centres. But what makes it particular is that the Grampians region has the lowest life expectancy in the State. And I think that makes it a matter of some urgency.

At the moment we don't know why the region has the lowest life expectancy, but it certainly has something to do with high youth suicide rates and it may well have to do with some lifestyle factors such as smoking rates. But that's yet to be worked out.

But there's no question that if we have appropriate health services like general practice, and I'm told that there are not enough GPs in the area in Ballarat, and if we have appropriate mental health services and a well-funded, well-operating public hospital sector then that would certainly go a long way to helping with these frightening statistics.

COOPER: Yeah, now you're talking to doctors. This is part of your travels, as well as patients.

PHELPS: Well I tend to speak to the general public when I'm in my travels. But the purpose of this particular trip is to meet with groups of doctors, to talk about what's happening in their areas. And obviously we've identified Bendigo and Ballarat as one of the nation's hotspots for health.

And that's why I'm coming here during this election campaign because I think that we need to get some assurances from both Coalition and the ALP about what they are planning to do to address these problems. Such as the shortage of GPs in regional and rural Australia, high youth suicide rates, youth unemployment, the issue of the Medicare rebates for example.

The very low bulk-billing rates in Bendigo and Ballarat. And for people who are disadvantaged, this means they're paying bigger gaps. We need to address the Medicare Benefit Schedule of Fees, to make sure that it reflects reality. And at the moment, it doesn't.

COOPER: In your career and your work, and particularly as President of the AMA, you've sort of ventured into places where no persons have gone before, with a great deal of intestinal fortitude. That must be part of your make up.

PHELPS: Well I think, with a job like this, it takes it. And I think if you feel passionately enough about an issue, you put any fears about personal implications aside and make sure that the issues are foremost.

COOPER: Yeah. And I would imagine it's been a strain from time to time. I mean there's court litigation. I don't want you, of course, I know you won't talk about any court cases pending. But there is one pending at this stage. But all those sort of things must …

PHELPS: Well we actually won the defamation case yesterday. So …

COOPER: Oh you did.

PHELPS: So you mention it.

COOPER: Oh right. But that's enough to place a strain on you as well?

PHELPS: Well it did. But I didn't take much focus away from what I felt were the important health issues. And that is the situation for people are needing access, at an affordable rate, for general practice. Proper funding for our public hospitals. And of course the big sleeper issue, I think, for this election is aged care.

And we just don't have enough adequate funding for aged care places. And people need the sort of security for their old age, to think that if they do need a particularly high level care, that it will be available for them and it will be something that will provide to them care with dignity and self-respect.

COOPER: Yeah. You mentioned Medicare before. Do you think it works?

PHELPS: I think we have the basis of one of the best systems of health care in the world. But it is at risk of crumbling because it hasn't been appropriately kept up to date with the cost of providing health services.

All around the country, I'm hearing doctors working in the public hospital sector saying that they're leaving the public sector because it's just become too demoralising and too difficult to keep working there. And they're shifting over to the private sector.

We're finding that we've got a workforce shortage with nurses in the public sector and, indeed, in the private sector. And particularly in aged care. We find GPs, who are a demoralised workforce, who are finding it more and more difficult to provide the care that they want to be able to provide to their communities. And we're seeing some major areas that I think do need close attention.

And we need to hear some policy direction from the major parties about what they intend to do about health, to address these concerns which are very real ones.

COOPER: It's just ironic that, while you're here in Ballarat today, we actually have Deputy Premier and Minister for Health, John Thwaites, in with us as well.

And the big story up here, over the past year, particularly has been in regards to nurses or lack of numbers of nurses.

PHELPS: Yes.

COOPER: Do you want to make a comment on that?

PHELPS: I think it's an area that needs to be discussed urgently with the nursing groups. And of course the doctors have a very much a close interest in nursing numbers, because it affects the way doctors are able to provide care, for example, for elective surgery. And for admissions to hospitals and for aged care places.

We will be working closely with nurses groups on issues like this, in the coming Federal Election campaign and into the future. Because we have a lot of issues very much in common. And we'd support what the nurses are saying.

And I do know, and I've met with John Thwaites on a number of occasions, and I do know that he is making efforts to address some of the difficult issues, such as the nursing workforce shortage.

COOPER: Yeah. Ah, have you ever had any aspirations, because you're such a strong person, have you ever had any aspirations of politics down the track?

PHELPS: Look it's very nice that it keeps being suggested to me, but when you're in a membership organisation like the AMA, and our pure focus is on improving the health system, you can't afford to have personal ambitions of a party political nature. Because it would affect the decisions that you make and how hard you go on a particular issue.

And so, you know, I haven't actually considered that. No.

COOPER: Right. Okay. Well it's been terrific to talk to you this morning. I hope that you gain a lot, I'm sure you will, out of your travels, that can be used to best help the medical and the health industry. And it was great to talk to you this morning.

PHELPS: Thank you Mike, nice to talk to you.

COOPER: AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps.

Ends