Medical Indemnity - Government Must Act
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today that the medical indemnity crisis was threatening equity of access to life-saving health services and the solution was now a problem for all Australian governments.
It was reported today that neurosurgeons in NSW might not be available to provide emergency treatment in public hospitals from 1 January 2002 because they are unable to pay medical indemnity premiums of more than $100,000 per doctor per year.
This comes on top of last week's news that premiums for other specialties had risen by as much as 123 per cent, and that the world's biggest medical insurer had withdrawn from the business because it was no longer viable - an admission that some specialties are uninsurable.
Dr Phelps said this leaves public hospital patients particularly vulnerable.
"We are entering a holiday season that will place enormous pressure on our public hospitals," Dr Phelps said.
"It is a time known for traffic accidents and leisure-related mishaps that result in people needing emergency procedures at our hospitals - and it is the neurosurgeons who are needed to treat patients with head or spinal injuries. But this year it is also the time when many specialists will be forced out of the public hospital system because of outrageous medical indemnity premiums.
"Quite simply, this crisis means that many doctors will no longer be able to afford to practise medicine at a time when the community needs them most."
Dr Phelps said governments must now step in as a matter of urgency to help cover the cost of medical indemnity for vital health services conducted in public hospitals. NSW is the only State that does not cover indemnity costs for doctors treating public patients in public hospitals and is the State with the most urgent medical indemnity problem.
"The AMA has been told that in NSW, for example, Government intervention could cut the cost of insurance for the neurosurgeons by as much as 50 per cent and around 15 per cent for obstetricians.
"It is time for the States and the Commonwealth to develop a national solution to the medical indemnity crisis, and I will be raising this issue with the Health Minister, Kay Patterson, when we meet later this week.
"In the meantime, however, the escalating crisis situation in NSW is unsustainable for patients requiring specialist medical support and for doctors trying to maintain viable practices.
"A public health system that does not provide for patient claims or cover for its doctors in the current crisis is clearly not meeting its core objectives. The NSW Government must cover the costs of outstanding and future claims from public patients.
"This would send a reassuring message to the community on the eve of the Christmas-New Year holiday period. It would also set an example for the Federal and other State Governments," Dr Phelps said.
CONTACT: John Flannery (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761