Mudgee Doctors Ready to Walk Out Over Soaring Medical Insurance
A group of doctors at Mudgee in central west New South Wales will stop delivery of all obstetric services unless government takes action on soaring medical insurance fees.
Mudgee GP, Dr David Barclay, said the recent call on members by NSW indemnity insurer, United Medical Protection, would mean GP proceduralists would have to find an additional $13,000 a year to insure themselves against liability - a total of $26,000.
"Any doctor who's wearing this cost is wearing a noose around their neck - it's out of control," Dr Barclay said.
He said the decision by the Mudgee doctors had come after much thought and discussion.
"If we all have to go out, it will leave no-one to carry out caesarean deliveries. The nearest Base Hospital is at Dubbo - 90 minutes away.
"A rescue package needs to be instituted now - or more and more procedural GPs will be forced into giving up obstetrics and anaesthetics and, in many cases, will drift back to the cities as rural hospitals turn into ambulance stations," he said.
Speaking on Sydney Radio 2UE this morning, AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said the medical profession had always taken responsibility for its own insurance - but the costs were now at a point where many doctors, particularly rural obstetricians, were unable to cope.
"We are not talking about trying to avoid accountability. The medical profession is the most accountable profession in Australia," Dr Phelps said.
"Where we are running into problems is the inconsistency in the courts - there's no pattern in the severity of awards against genuine cases of negligence.
"And it's not just the costs that need to be contained, it's the terrible distress of the adversarial system. No-one wins except the lawyers."
Dr Phelps said the Federal Government should be taking a national leadership role in reforming the medical litigation system.
"And I'd like to see the NSW Government develop a model for other States along the lines of a tribunal system - to ensure all matters are dealt with fairly, but to remove all but the most serious cases of negligence from the adversarial system," she said.