Transcript: Discussion of rural health; stem cells; flu pandemic; Holt review

Thank you everybody for coming along. I'm here with David Rivett who is the Chair of my Rural Reference Group. One of the reasons we were meeting with the Minister today was to discuss issues of doctoring in the rural remote parts of Australia. What we feel is that if we get the solutions right for rural and remote Australia, we can actually get problems right for the rest of the country, in terms of medical workforce and retaining the medical workforce.

Today of course is the day that the Productivity Commission released their report into the medical workforce and the AMA has considerable concerns about that report, the lack of any thought about quality safety and standards and the need to make sure that we maintain those very high levels of care that we currently have. There have been no problems with the quality of care. So we need to make sure that's all sorted out and maintained. There are problems with retaining people in the system, recruiting people to the system and making sure the system is going to continue to deliver for Australians long term.

QUESTION:

Is there any merit in the multi skilling approach that the Productivity Report has taken?

HAIKERWAL:

Multi skilling is something that most of us in professions are already good at doing. We do an awful lot of things. I suppose what the Productivity Commission is saying is that other people can do some of the work the doctors and other professionals are currently doing.

What's very important to us is that all Australians have access to a proper medical diagnosis and proper medical treatment. Into that treatment plan other people will be recruited to then make sure that we get the best level of professionalism across each discipline that's involved in an individual's care.

We don't need a lower level generic healthcare worker. We need good professionals, well-trained professionals with high standards, working together effectively and efficiently.

QUESTION:

What about the certification issues that have arisen from the report?

HAIKERWAL:

There's a very good reason why professional regulation is important because what people do in the care professions is really something very unique and the health professionals are the ones that can say whether something is correct or incorrect. Now the Quality and Standards framework that we have today is delivering, continues to deliver and needs to be allowed to continue to deliver. We don't need to dumb that down and we don't need to dilute that.

QUESTION:

And does that sort of transform into the training issue as well, which I know you've touched on already, but that whole notion of training being the responsibility of the various professions?

HAIKERWAL:

The manner in which training is currently rolled out is delivered and delivered well. The problem is in lack of numbers and that's a State Government responsibility. The State Governments have got to provide places for people to train in and in the hospitals and not only that - they've got to allow the hospitals the money to do that training and to do cases through the hospital system so that training is meaningful. And so there is a joint responsibility from the Commonwealth to provide the people and from States to provide the facilities.

QUESTION:

If I could change the subject, the stem cell laws, do they need to be relaxed in your opinion to let therapeutic cloning go through?

HAIKERWAL:

The Lockhart Review is currently going through a process of analysing the issues here. We need to have a very significant and widespread community debate on this issue. There are some very genuine benefits that can be obtained from cloning but they needn't be embryonic stem cells. There are other lines of stems cells that are achievable from non-embryonic sources. And I think that we need to look very carefully and what can and can't be done.

And again, not hang an awful lot of our energy on one particular part, on one tiny part of what is actually a very important set of research going on.

QUESTION:

You don't think therapeutic cloning is something that you know, we should as a biotech knowledgeable state, we should be really looking into that or…?

HAIKERWAL:

No, therapeutic cloning is a very important part but we're not talking about embryonic cloning. They're a very specific part of this whole picture of growing new stems from cell lines and the way that's done has to be done carefully with wide community consultation to ensure people are comfortable with what we're doing but currently our policy says no to human cloning and the debate around embryonic cloning is obviously very hot.

QUESTION:

And your reaction to the recommendations released this morning regarding Dr John Holt?

HAIKERWAL:

The report today is quite clear that the work that was being done in Western Australia using microwave therapy in addition to radio therapy and certainly on its own is actually no better and often more dangerous than the conventional therapies. It's very important that when there are novel treatments out there people do not lose sight of the fact that conventional therapies are actually there to help them, to make them better and shouldn't be discarded for something that's not tried and not trusted.

QUESTION:

Just in relation to the flu pandemic, you have some concerns about how the Government's been consulting the GPs on this.

HAIKERWAL:

The flu pandemic is always a threat. It's much more to the fore currently because people are much more concerned about avian flu or bird flu. The problem with the current situation around flu - the flu epidemic or potential pandemic - is that we've got a very good plan, an overarching national plan but we need to engage with local general practitioners and local health delivery sites to make sure that they're prepared, they know what the information is, they know when to test people more and - if there is a pandemic - and when to treat.

So there needs to be good communication between the Federal Government, State Government and the ground hands-on practitioners and that needs to be a two way street.

QUESTION:

Should there be a publicly announced or available list of people who would be immunised in the event of a pandemic?

HAIKERWAL:

In the event of a pandemic, the time taken to create a vaccine will be quite long and the issue more is about using medications to prevent people getting sick - so prophylactic use or tablets - and treating people with tablets for viruses, for flu when it's diagnosed.

There is a stockpile. The stockpile is being increased. It's important that people who are the front line of looking after the ill, the sick, the infirm, get that prophylactic treatment and that we recognise the problems early, can isolate people so we don't get this spread happening. The biggest problem is not recognising a pandemic and allowing the disease to spread rapidly. So we've got to be out there understanding what's going on. We've got to pick up the disease early. We've got to treat people who need treatment and isolate people who are infected, so the spread doesn't happen throughout the community.

QUESTION:

Do you think Australia is vulnerable to a pandemic?

HAIKERWAL:

Look, every nation on earth is vulnerable to a pandemic and that's why we have to be prepared. The Federal Government together with the States and local practitioners have been giving influenza vaccines to people on a free basis to those 65 and over, which is a very good health measure.

Specific vaccines for specific bugs are being developed but really we've got to make sure that we have a good surveillance system and a good way of interacting with all the people in the system so that we can actually get the best response and the quickest response and the most appropriate response should this happen.

QUESTION:

The rural health issues that you're bringing up today, why are you doing that today? I'm just - it seems to me that they're ongoing issues. I'm just wondering if there's something new?

HAIKERWAL:

The rural health issue is certainly one that we have to address and it's very important that we get the answers right. The reason for that is that if we solve the rural issues, we'll solve the metropolitan issues at the same time.

I have been asked to set up a Rural Reference Group and David Rivett, who's standing behind me, is my Chair of my Rural Reference Group. This is a group of very highly qualified and respected doctors from rural Australia, every stage in rural Australia, including doctors in training. And it's very important that we apprise the Minister of the work that we're doing in this area, because as an AMA we look at the whole health system - not necessarily one snippet of it - and integrate the responses to the whole system.

QUESTION:

But is this the first time we've heard of doctors' appointments…?

HAIKERWAL:

This is the first time the Rural Reference Group has had a chance to meet with the Minister and certainly the Chair of the group and the group is doing some extremely good work collaboratively and not being destructive in the way in which we're working through the system.

Thank you very much. Thanks everybody. Thank you.