Rural Australia - the biggest waiting room
The Australian Medical Association has attacked the Rudd Government over its lack of action on rural health.
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said she was bitterly disappointed that the Federal Government did not put in any significant extra funding to address medical workforce shortages in regional and rural Australia.
Dr Capolingua accused the Government of making a song and dance about the shortages following the release of the Audit of Health Workforce in Rural and Regional Australia two weeks ago and then not putting any real money into fixing the problem.
"The Rudd Government is strongly committed to improving health outcomes for rural communities around Australia."
Health Minister Nicola Roxon (press release 30/4/08)
Dr Capolingua said despite the Government's recent comments, rural health has been put in the 'too hard basket' again.
"If people think waiting lists in metropolitan areas are bad, visit the biggest waiting room of them all - rural Australia," she said.
"How can regional Australians feel anything but ignored by the Rudd Government? People in the bush were expecting much more."
The AMA had been calling for big-ticket items investing in major workforce programs and funding for rural hospital infrastructure.
Instead, we are lumped with more red tape - another review of the existing programs and a new bureaucratic structure.
Dr Capolingua renewed calls for a rural rescue package such as the proposal that was put forward by the AMA and Rural Doctors Association of Australia last year.
"We want to see a comprehensive set of rural-specific support incentives to get more doctors working in the bush."
The AMA/RDAA rescue package included:
- a Rural Isolation Payment to be paid to all rural doctors (including GPs, specialists and registrars) to reflect the isolation associated with rural practice; and
- a Rural Procedural and Emergency/On Call Loading to better support rural procedural doctors (including procedural specialists) who provide obstetric, surgical, anaesthetic or primary emergency on-call service in rural communities.
Dr Capolingua said that it was time the Rudd Government put in place real measures that wills see more locally-trained doctors take up a career in rural Australia.
"We want to see more funding and more practical incentives - not just lip service," she said.
The AMA will be taking up these issues with the Government.