Health Commission Forgets The Bush In Final Report, Australia

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 27 Jul 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission has wasted a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to fix the rural health crisis by ignoring the need for urgent initiatives to entice more doctors and other health professionals to the bush, the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) said today.

"After the Commission released its interim report in February, we expressed our strong disappointment that the number one priority for fixing the rural health crisis-improving access to local healthcare by getting more health professionals into rural and remote Australia-was largely being overlooked by the Commission" RDAA President, Dr Nola Maxfield, said.

"Consequently, it is extremely unfortunate and frustrating to us that the Commission has not heeded our advice when developing its final report on health reform.

"The Commission's final report was meant to be a report for the whole health system, but unfortunately it has a gaping hole in it-rural health. The crucial element missing from the report is any recommendation for substantial new initiatives to get more doctors and other healthcare professionals to the bush.

"In particular, we are extremely disappointed that a critical Rural Rescue Plan put forward by RDAA and the AMA has again been overlooked by the Commission. Implementation of this Plan would be a very cost-effective (and we believe hugely successful) way to get and keep more doctors in rural practice by providing real incentives and supports for them. We have already seen this type of Plan introduced in Queensland by the state government, and the ensuing increase in rural doctors there has been staggering.

"At the end of the day, the real issue for rural Australia is not about whether our nation has one health system or whether the states or Commonwealth control it, but whether there is a health system at all in the bush. The continuing, chronic shortage of health professionals in our country communities means that rural Australians are simply not able to access the healthcare they need and deserve.

"It's all well and good for the Commission to talk about equity payments to ensure health dollars reach those who need it most, but until we get enough health professionals into rural and remote Australia it is going to be virtually impossible to translate those payments into the delivery of extra local services.

"Rural Australia is already suffering from a shortage of 17,000 health professionals including doctors, nurses and other health professionals-and this shortage will only get worse in the absence of genuine government action. "As Prime Minister Kevin Rudd undertakes his consultation around the Commission's final report, we urge him to get out of the cities and the big metropolitan hospitals, and instead get into the bush to talk to the healthcare professionals working on the ground there. He needs to visit many rural hospitals, rural general practices and Aboriginal Medical Services to see for himself the problems surrounding access to healthcare in the bush and what must be done to remedy the situation before it is simply too late.

"Rural health is a bit like a paddock-once the topsoil has eroded away from lack of care it is very hard to bring it back to life. Now is the time to be investing in this paddock so it will provide the harvest of rural health professionals and better access to healthcare that is so desperately required in the bush."

Source
Rural Doctors Association of Australia

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