Media release – Monday 25 April 2022
AMA’S TOWN HALL PUBLIC HEALTH MEETINGS ARE THE NEXT PHASE OF NATIONAL CAMPAIGN
AMA Tasmania is inviting the public to join an online Town Hall Forum tonight (Tuesday) at 7:00 pm Tuesday 26 April 2022 to have their voice heard on their experiences with the public health system and general practice alongside hearing from people working in the healthcare sector and political candidates vying for their vote.
Off the back of the Federal AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid’s recent visit to Tasmania in the lead up to election day on 21 May, the AMA is particularly seeking to gain the views of all political parties, and candidates on the issue of a 50:50 funding agreement between Federal and state governments for public hospitals and priorities for creating a modern Medicare.
AMA Tasmania is headlining the next phase of these campaigns in the first in a series of state-based virtual town hall meetings to be held across the country.
Sustainable funding of our health system is paramount to the AMA, whether in the acute or primary health sectors.
It is clear that the current funding arrangements are not sufficient to meet the ever-growing demand in our hospitals with AMA analysis showing that a lack of funding to expand capacity and improve performance in hospitals is the root cause behind ambulance ramping, bed block in emergency and delays in elective surgery within our public hospitals.
Former Tasmanian premier and AMA Tasmania CEO Lara Giddings will moderate the meeting, which will focus on the future of public health in Tasmania. AMA Federal President Dr Omar Khorshid and newly elected AMA Tasmania President Dr John Saul will participate alongside the RACGP, ANMF, HACSU and Consumers Health Tasmania.
The AMA has invited a representative from each political party to speak for five minutes on their party’s view of the 50:50 funding agreement for public hospitals and what they will do to support GPs should their party win government.
Members of the public will also have the opportunity to speak of their public hospital and experiences accessing GPs.
Throughout the campaign, the AMA has heard heart-breaking first-hand stories from patients and healthcare workers about our public hospitals’ realities and the real impact of our public hospital funding crisis.
Similarly, general practice in Tasmania is reaching a boiling point with over 150 vacancies for GPs across the state, GP practices closing their books, earlier than planned retirements, extended wait times for appointments and fewer doctors willing to become a GP.
This crisis in general practice is not limited to metropolitan areas either, with rural and regional communities across the state being left with no regular GP access, particularly compounded by sometimes limited access to public transport or technology.
AMA Tasmania President Dr John Saul said, “you only have to look to Ouse to see a general practice that has closed and left a community reeling.
“Ouse is just the tip of the iceberg. I have practised in both rural and regional areas of Tasmania across my general practice career. It’s always been very rewarding work, but it’s tough going now.
“Rural general practices across our state are operating on the smell of an oily rag, with many struggling to recruit the GPs required to keep their practices open in a sustainable manner. The shortage of GPs is putting a lot of pressure on the system and is predicted to worsen in the coming years, with medical graduates turning their back on general practice.
“It wasn’t that long ago almost half of doctors would choose to become a GP. That number is now down to around 15 per cent! With growing overheads and more complex patient cases, compounded by a federal government Medicare rebate system that is failing to keep up with rising healthcare costs and instead shifting that cost on to patients, general practice is in crisis and patients are missing out.
“Many patients can ill afford the increase in doctor fees and therefore choose to wait until their health deteriorates further and turn up at an emergency department instead.
This is why the AMA launched this new plan calling for a whole of government commitment to creating a modern Medicare to address the urgent need for reform and investment that will help improve health care at a primary care level – which should, have a knock on effect across several areas including making it more attractive to Australian medical graduates who are turning their back on general practice for other specialities in favour of more financially secure futures.”
The Tasmania town hall meeting is open to the public, and all AMA members. You can register here.
