DOCTORS REFORM SOCIETY

Media Release

Saturday, 11 February 2006

COAG’S HEALTH REFORM: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REFORM?

“The COAG meeting had such potential to address the many substantial issues facing our struggling health system but has failed to deliver,” said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society.

Australians face an increasingly privatised two tiered health system with ‘safety nets’ made weaker every year, a crisis in mental health, years long waiting times in public hospitals, increasing gaps between the health of the poor and the rich, patients struggling to find an affordable GP, and this is the best they can do.

“Instead of clearly addressing the extensively documented crisis in mental health and committing to instituting the existing National Mental Health Strategy, this issue has been sent away for further discussion.”

“Instead of committing to instituting the recommendations of the Productivity Commission on Workforce, there was no commitment to extra HECS places for doctors or nurses and the best that can be offered is more full fee paying medical student places to produce doctors who aren’t good enough to qualify for HECS funded places.”

“Instead of looking at the $10 billion over 4 years which the Federal Government spends to prop up the inefficient and expensive private health industry (through the PHI rebate) , they have found a paltry $1.1 billion over 4 years to address the problems of inadequate Aged Care, inappropriate nursing home placement of young people with disabilities, poor co-ordination of primary and hospital care, and  inadequate preventive care,” said Dr Woodruff.

“The fact that these multiple important issues rate only one tenth of the tax spending on private health insurance is a sad reflection of the priorities of COAG.”

“It is pleasing to see a co-operative federal/state approach to addressing health issues, and to see the recognition given to some of the important issues,” said Dr Woodruff. “It is of deep concern however, that this co-operation involves such minor commitments to real reform and an avoidance of serious commitment to the major issues.”

Dr Tim Woodruff

President

Doctors Reform Society