Rudd’s health care plan is a road to nowhere

Joan says:

07:56am | 13/04/10

Well I don’t want Victorian share of GST taken to clean up sloppy NSW mess. New money is needed not Victorian money. Since you are on a committee what has your committe done to improve things or do you sit around, whinge like this letter, have a cup of tea and go home?

Steve woy woy says:

08:46am | 13/04/10

And the other way would be?

Abbott’s plan for hospital boards is one that can work!!.... is your other offering. Good to see the impartial point of view from one so well informed!!!

Net result nil from years of abundant wealth… and still no policy on anything…...

Joan says:

10:09am | 13/04/10

Steve - effective boards are one thing - tea slurping whingeing committees another.

acker says:

11:21am | 13/04/10

@Joan ...I don’t want NSW mining royalties paying for Victoria’s hospitals

Joan says:

12:22pm | 13/04/10

Acker you have your royalties and your GST yet NSW health system is a mess, as NSW is - please explain !

Jack from Perth says:

03:39pm | 13/04/10

@acker and @Joan: You both seem to forget that NSW and Vic is funded my WA’s GST AND mining royalties.

Andrew says:

04:18pm | 13/04/10

Its so funny reading the partisan state comments here. NSW is ripping of Vic, W.A. is funding Vic and NSW.

C’mon. Have a good hard look at yourself. Last time I looked we were a federal commonWEALTH. Get it COMMON WEALTH.

People who by accident of birth or choice to relocate to WA or QLD have no more right to claim mining royalties from their state belong solely to them than people in the Hunter do to say they are more entitled to coal mining royalties than people in Gilgandra.

Do you want better health services for QLD than Tassy? If so why.

Aren’t we all Australians. Don’t we all pay our taxes. Shouldn’t we be entitled to well managed good government?

OK so lets take WA mining royalties, apply a Vic health model and fix up the rest of the country. Then in 50-100 years when WA has dug up everything it can from the ground they can rely on GST revenues from the Eastern states to help them out.

Try to remember .... Commonwealth of Australia

Having said all that, I think Rudd and his crew couldn’t manage a p*ss up in a brewery.

acker says:

04:51pm | 13/04/10

@jack from perth ...WA isn’t the only place with mines and have you paid us back from the wool boom of the 1950’s yet ? @joan ..I’m on the commitee as a volunteer and the scope of activity the NSW Health department gives us to comment on is barely much more than the choice of coffee or tea. We are a figleaf that helps them pretend they have ticked the community consultation box on their checklist.

Steve woy woy says:

05:53pm | 13/04/10

@Joan.. lovely word effective… all in the way you dress it dear much like the boards and the chairman of the board, you will still end up with the “in” at the front the word much like the last government and its health minister. But I do grant you this it will be effective to have the boards as a place to pay off the usual Greatch like sycophants and party faithful.

acker says:

07:25pm | 13/04/10

Another thing I do know as far as being a rural child who had a few stints in hospital due to a major pushbike accident with a car (prior to helmets) and a nasty run in with a washing machine ringer (at 3) as a kid you like to be close to your family not miles away.

One parent might stay close to you in a major regional or city hospital (probably at great expense and disruption to the rest of the family), but you still long for the rest of your family and friends visits (not just mum). To send kids hundreds of kilometers away from home for hospital monitered re-cuperation solely because you can’t guarantee their protection in hospital is cruel, in particular when your local town has a hospital.

A locked ward door to other patients and staff accredited who pass a work with children check much like schools is not huge costs or impositions.

A sick child deserves that we ensure they are as close as possible to all their family and friends that we can safely provide.

I have heard that due to union/workplace arrangments that NSW hospitals can not even stand down on pay health workers under investigation from serious complaints. They must remain in active in the hospital.

If the nursing or allied health unions in New South Wales or Australia think they are in the right on this issue, I think it is time we have a national or state public debate on this issue.

From what I can see this is hurting rural kids needlessly by putting some politically correct notions and union back room deals ahead of the best interests of the patients and the children in these communities.

Christian Real says:

06:05am | 14/04/10

Steve of Woy Woy 09.46am 13/04/10
Steve, Hospital Boards are outdated and things of the past , like Tony Abbott who appears to be living in the past , not the present and he certainly does not appear to have any real ideas and policies for the future either.

Christian Real says:

06:27am | 14/04/10

John A Neve,
You say :“Our health system has failed to keep pace with the countries needs for the last 12 years or more”
As the Liberal Government was in power for almost 12 years, it would then appear that they have failed to address the health issues over that period , and Tony Abbott, the man who dreams to be Prime Minister, was in fact a Health Minister during that period of time.
At lest it would seem that the Labor Government has taken a step in the right direction to address the Health issue and yes, a complete Federal take over and control of health appears to be the right way to go.

Mark says:

09:52am | 13/04/10

He did take time Joan. Come on be fair.

On The Insiders on Sunday he recognised that this was a real pickle of a problem. A real brain teaser. And golly gosh if his promise to take the hospitals over by now and end the blame game was a bit hasty given the complexity of it. Didn’t actually foresee that when he made that promise but never mind it was the thought that counts.

Monday, apparently, was a busy day because, drum roll please, on Tuesday we got this new health “policy” that does nothing until after the election - 2015 in fact. How convenient.

So you see he thought long and hard about it. For a day. Which I guess is better than picking $43billion out of the sky and saying let there be an NBN.

24 hours in Krudds news cycle and thought process is an eternity.

Shame it is our health and lives he is now playing with. Given his track record on everything else I sincerely urge you to not get sick or be in need of treatment. The omens don’t look real good. You will probably be seen to by an ex batt installer fresh from a green ETS job that fizzled out to a redundancy payment since made really rich working on a school building project after applying for a job they saw on the one web page left available for the Australian public to view after having been deemed secretly appropriate as it hails Rudd 10 times in the URL.

Or something like that. You get the picture.

Jane says:

12:32pm | 13/04/10

Absolutely spot on Wayne - not much more to say other than what you have accurately described.

The States have mis-directed their ‘health’ share of GST….to cover up incompetence and cost blowouts elsewhere. They should be made accountable for the $‘s already spent/squandered and future waste and misappropriation…but not with a 50/50 Rudd/Labor ‘blame game’ perpetuation method.

Putting a stop to the ‘blame game’ was seen as a valid voting point 2007…..but has been shown to be hollow on every issue so far.

This cobbled together Federal ‘campaign’ tailored sham is being ‘seen’ to be doing something in an election year whilst actually doing NOTHING…..and Brumby’s current stance is ‘being seen to be concerned for Victorians’ when in actuality, the failures and wastage of the last decade prove he and Labor actually don’t give a rats.

It’ll all be sweet and a ‘win win’ for both when they claim they have managed to reach a ‘workable arrangement of benefit to all’ closer to the elections…..and for the subsequent ‘reward’ from the duped voter.
Pfft

John A Neve says:

08:56am | 13/04/10

DG,

I am unimpressed with your insightful review of the situation. Althought I doubt urinating on the wall will help!

The Liberals never had $20 million in the bank, the Australian people did. Likewise Labor never had a $96 million debt we did. Added to which the people voted both Labor and Liberals (coalition) out of office, so what does that say about their money managment?

DG says:

10:16am | 13/04/10

Yes you are correct Mr Nerve…...the Liberals never had 20 million in the bank- it was 20 Billion

Vote them in (or out) but they are “on watch on the bridge” of our ship and holding the tiller and they have to watch out for those icebergs.. its a shame labour has used “our” money to plug the holes

or is it us that made the Titanic in the first place?

John A Neve says:

01:03pm | 13/04/10

DG,

Asks “Or is it us that made the Titanic in the first place”?  The answer to you question, is yes we did, in a democracy isn’t the government the face and voice of the people?

If the government stuffs up DG, it means we have stuffed up, so what are you going to do about it?

Remember, jsut over two years ago we voted the other lot out, not much choice is there?

Toby says:

03:51pm | 13/04/10

For goodness sake DG.  It’s about time you and your rusted on Liberal voting mates learnt a new catch cry to could repeat ad nauseum in order to replace “Surplus, surplus, surplus”. 

Repeat after me “Global economy”!

Margaret Gray says:

05:00pm | 13/04/10

“...Repeat after me “Global economy”!...”

I fail to see the relevance of this statement.

The “Global Economy” is stuffed.

Australia’s economy is stuffed.

That is all they have in common.

Are you seriously suggesting that Australia somehow influences the “global economy” or is itself impacted by the “global economy”?

Rudd and Swan tell us the reason we are immune from the global fiscal rout is a direct result of their wonderous and successive stimuli packages that saved us all from certain financial roon.  Hooray!

Of course that’d be the same stimuli that has seen the RBA predict runaway inflation that they will desperately try to curtail through raising interest rates; expected to reach double digits by 2012.

They’d also be the same stimuli that has triggered this endless procession of rorts, flagrant waste and courting votes through blatant union cronyism that will somehow be magically ‘fixed’ by the creation of yet more Rudd bureacracy.  Hooray!

This is exactly what Kevin’s health care ‘plan’ is…more bureacracy.

Toby says:

05:25pm | 13/04/10

Margaret,

Thanks for the laugh.
“Are you seriously suggesting that Australia somehow influences the “global economy” or is itself impacted by the “global economy”?”
Wait, you don’t really think that the Australian economy is immune from Global Influences do you?  So sad :(

Ellis Wyatt says:

05:51pm | 13/04/10

John A Neve,

You are understating fiscal finances by three orders of magnitude.
$20 billion ($20,000,000,000), not $20 million, was the size of surplus left by the Howard Government, having cleared up the $96 billion ($96,000,000,000), not $96 million, debt bequeathed to taxpayers by the Keating Government in 1996.

Given the pattern of reckless spending by the current Government it is increasingly likely that Treasurer Swan will never deliver a single Budget surplus.

John A Neve says:

06:09am | 14/04/10

Ellis Wyatt,

I am impressed, however, you are a litle slow DG advised me of my mitake some hours ago.

The sum does not impact on the logic though does it?  Both the debt and the surplus was paid for by the people. Added to which the money was spent on the people, so you contributed to the “debt” didn’t you?

Ellis Wyatt says:

09:52am | 14/04/10

John A Neve,

Yes, there is no such thing as ‘government money,’ it is ultimately always ‘taxpayers’ money’, which governments are meant to manage in trust on behalf of all of us.  I am not convinced that we are witnessing particularly adept management of our money at the moment (roof insulation, overpriced school shade cloth programs etc). 

Given its record, it would truly be a triumph of hope over experience to believe that the Federal Government, which apparently hasn’t actually run a hospital since 1970, could somehow improve hospital management in Victoria (operating largely on a model set up under Kennett).

John A Neve says:

11:43am | 14/04/10

Ellis Wyatt,

Based on my experience with the Victorian health sytem, I doubt Rudd’s health initiative will change much. However we are talking Australia, not Victoria, if this scheme raises all health to Victoria’s standard he will have done well.  Or don’t you agree?

TwistedEar says:

03:12pm | 13/04/10

Congratualtions Sia - you’ve just flagged yourself as a Nurse’s Union shiv. Congrats. Most staff in those facilities are actually Div 2 Nurses often working as PCA carers who don’t want the extra stress. Guess what, 90% of those in aged care facilities don’t need nurses, they just need help - often being something that the family makes it impossible to give (yeah, like ANYONE is going to take detailed notes on the exact second Mr X falls asleep and the exact second he woke up).

As for the whole reports of abuse? Most of the statistics report abuse where no actual abuse is taken, but facilities are not ‘up to scratch’. Of course, with the current trend of State govts forcing the ethos of ageing in place on facilities, we find a massive spike in teh nimber of residents jumping the gap from low to high care, which means massive investment in equiptment required (especially in left machine numbers… you need a lower ration of patients to lift machines in high care than low care), but of course facilities don’t get the funding to buy the equiptment until well AFTER the resident is classed as high care. Of course, for a resident to be classed as high care, there are external inspectors who are also part of the accredditation process - so you can’t fund the equiptment until after you need it, which means you have an abuse case on your hands. Hmm, self-fulfilling porphecy much?

I’m not saying there arne’t quite a few PCA’s that need the boot - most of them are in the dodgy 2 week courses that give next to no practical placement experience. Unfortunately, those types of courses often attract migrants with no english skills and mayhaps looking to extend their student visas in Australia to use that loophole to get PR. Yes, most of these poor-quality PCAs are of Indian/Nepalese descent - but I can assure you that there are as many poor-quality nurses who could not feed a patient properly who would be used to replace them. What we need is bette rtraining - enforce a minimum 3 month theory time with 6 weeks minimum f/t placement and you will see the quality of care increase. As for pay - the actual job is paid better than you’d think - once you realise only a few failities will pay the base rate… andthen you get all those wonderful loading penalties.

Nurses are what is causing the aged care system’s downfall - and the ANF is driving hard to displace Div 2 and PCA’s that are showing their members up.

Sia says:

10:17pm | 13/04/10

Twisted ear I am NOT a “Nurse’s Union shiv. ”
Whatever that is.

I have personal experience with my own mother in two nursing homes. One private, one hospital managed.  I have visited MANY aged care facilities and spoken to managers and staff. I also have close friend who has only recently gone through EXACTLY the same process. My experience is not uncommon. My conclusions are not uncommon.

I didn’t say detailed notes are required.  There was NO div 2 nurses in PCA positions where my mother was for a short time. And that’s exactly why it was a short time.  There is a lot of mental neglect that goes on in nursing homes. When staff can barely speak the language this is even more exacerbated. Yes there will always be some exceptions.

“Nurses are what is causing the aged care system’s downfall ”
I disagree.  I’d prefer a nurse over someone with a short tafe certifiacte anyday and most would agree with me.

And I know nursing homes need ‘help’. That’s my whole point. FOR PROFIT aged care is about PROFIT. Privatising everything does not work. Nursing homes were and should still be community run and corporate profiteers should look elsewhere. There are just some things in life that should be more important than the mighty dollar.

How and why does the “ANF try to displace Div 2 and PCA’s ?”
I don’t know why they wouldn’t want more nurses in aged care?

Graham says:

11:54am | 13/04/10

Ben, if the AMA is not a union, then what is it? I am not a doctor, can I join it?

The AMA website says: “The AMA is the peak representative body for all registered medical practitioners and medical students.” If that isn’t a trade union, I don’t know what is!

Darren says:

12:19pm | 13/04/10

of course the AMA is a Union - it is so powerful it does not have to join the piss-ants in the ACTU -

Ben says:

03:22pm | 13/04/10

It’s a representative organisation only and plays no specific role in industrial negotiations.etc. The (local) unions representing medical staff are QPSU and SDQ…

ANYWAY, the bigger issue here is the rest of the post…!

TracyS says:

10:07am | 16/04/10

The AMA is not a trade union, cannot be a trade union, because its members are a ixed group of salaried, casually employed, self employed and corporate owner doctors and students who are not even working yet. It does not have the powers of a trade union and cannot take industrial action such as strikes, or work place negotiations.

@Graham - if you are a medical practitioner or a medical student then yes you can join the AMA. That’s the thing about professional organisations, the membership is restricted to the profession.

Humble Opinion says:

11:47am | 13/04/10

This is very true.  Kevin Rudd is a very capable person, but a micro manager.  They are good single goal hard workers. Getting to lead the party was a single goal (winning the election was just hanging around while the other party disappeared up its @r$e).  However they are unable to get others fired up, as they believe no one can do as good a job as them. Then they get all stressed, micro managing everything and getting nowhere.  Not good for the country.  I bet he has a high staff turnover, as working for this type is soul destroying rather than inspiring.  He would be great, assisting the person in the top job (Julia?) but he certainly is having problems with closing any legislation.

Joan says:

12:25pm | 13/04/10

Dr Rudd at Large would make a good comedy show. By the way do patients recover faster or require extra day stay post Dr Rudd visit.?

Ian F says:

01:02pm | 13/04/10

Mr Rudd’s hospital tour photo opportunities are reminiscent of the pre-Enlightenment practice of ‘the laying on of hands’, ‘the Divine Touch’ or ‘Royal Gift of Healing’ formerly administered by the French monarchs in the exercise of their divine abilities.

oped says:

01:29pm | 13/04/10

At least he isn’t turning up to the hospitals in sweaty lycra, ian.

Soothsayer says:

02:43pm | 13/04/10

@Humble opinion: a stressed micro manager breaks down easily,  watch out for a sudden resignation soon.

Graham says:

12:40pm | 13/04/10

I guess at least Rudd is having a go. The Howard Government sat on their hands for 11 years and did nothing about issues like health, education, infrastructure etc., but rather accumulated cash and sat on top of it to show how important they were.

And where is Abbott in all of this? He is riding his bike, indulging in his fitness obsession, addicted to the endorphins he gets when he pursues extremes sports.

I know who I’d prefer to be in charge.

jg says:

01:29pm | 13/04/10

Ho hum..

groceries, fuel, whales, refugees, insulation, green loans, ETS, global warming, etc..

national broadband, net censorship, digital revolution, Murray darling, Iranian leaders, Medicare/Private Health rebate not to be touched, dental scheme abolished, One Stop Super Childcare Centres , GP Super Clinics.

But don’t worry, he can fix the hospitals.

Anthony says:

03:24pm | 13/04/10

Your correct Graham, it is unfortunate how trade unions influence politics without helping society.

sia says:

01:11pm | 13/04/10

@ 6c legs

Sure I’m racist. NOT.
If your mother had a stroke and could barely take care of herself and was confused and afraid - then you’d definitely want poorly trained, inexperienced ‘attendants’ speaking in broken english to her. 

And the dementia residents yelling ” What?  I can understand you….” also smacks of racism too I guess.

I’m well aware assistant nurses used to work with div 1 nurses. They were assistant NURSES.  NURSES.  The point is they have been replaced by ‘attendants’ with a tafe certificate. How qualified do you think they are to observe a resident when they are ill or notice small medical issues before the turn into LARGE medical problems?

If you’ve worked in aged care in three states - then you know EXACTLY what I am referring to - inferring I am racist is a nice try at deflection but it doesn’t work. I have spoken to enough families (and NURSES) to know that the only time you see some ‘action’ in nursing home is when they bring on extra staff to scuffle around prior to an inspection for accreditation.

The system is broken and running for profit nursing homes that have skeleton nursing staff should NOT be allowed. I never said the ‘Libs’ should take care of anything.

Why don’t you read though some info at http://www.agedcarecrisis.com
Here’s a quote so you get the idea:

“Barely a day goes by that we don’t hear another shameful story of sub-standard care to our elderly citizens in hospital and nursing home care.

Whilst our politicians and bureaucrats argue, pass the buck, or indulge in taxpayer’s funded Reviews, Audits, Assessments, Committees and Senate Inquiries, who is speaking up for our elderly Australians who are largely suffering in silence?

Ageing disgracefully should not happen to anyone’s mother, father, or relative.”

6c legs says:

06:21pm | 13/04/10

“Sia”, I wasn’t inferring you were racist, xenophobia is different to racism. We all only have the words in front of us on the screen, and sometimes they read differently to how they were meant.

I had no training when I first worked in Aged Care, aside from being a mother, and neither did any of the other Assistant Nurses I worked alongside. The only training I ever recieved was on-the-job, but aside from 1 small incident where I was hurt lifting a patient (trying to save time, not waiting for the ‘lift’ duh-me) I seemed to manage alright (& got on well with the clients - but that of course is my biased opinion).

I believe it’s more to do with the Attendent/Assitant Nurse’s personality and judgment than any amount of TAFE training on how well clients will be cared for. And 2 weeks at TAFE? well, W o W is all i can answer to that! (at least ‘in the bad ol days’ they only employed mothers or ‘older sisters’)

It’s not Rocket Science, adged care is basically paying attention to detail, and caring for someone how one would want to be cared for oneself that people want, and mostly need.

I have an elder friend in AC, I do understand some of the frustration, but the whole system has been languishing wounded for so long that it’s going to take a long stint in ICU and rehab to fix it…

IMHO at least Rudd is trying.

I’m sorry “Sia”  that your mother is finding adjusting tough. It’s somthing that will come to many of us… *sigh*...and yes I was wrong to lump you in with the Libs without knowing for sure.

stephen says:

01:04pm | 13/04/10

Ms Capolingua doesn’t have to tell us she’s a Liberal in heart, but then i don’t want a Doctor giving me advise on politics, either.

Joan says:

01:59pm | 13/04/10

Stephen: All Australians can have a political opinion - that`s the way a democracy works and blogging gives greater opportunity to interact and influence.

Brian says:

01:11pm | 13/04/10

No argument here…....and that voice, what an embarassment…...where is Maxime McWho and Peter Garrett?

C’mon Australia, experiment with Kevin 07 has failed…..next

we the people says:

01:20pm | 13/04/10

I agree- but these jokes will be voted back in again…these 2 major aprties need a shake up and have some people with real nuts and inteligence to be in them and/or lead them~!
thats why fools like the Greens, Democrats and One Nation get votes…we, the people are looking for options because the 2 majors just dont deliver

an interesting aside-
note how Krudd hasnt been mouthing off much lately- compared to a few months ago…the spin merchants have realised the bad publicity from Garret and have pulled Krudds chain in to keep his head out of the firing line too!

Bob H says:

01:37pm | 13/04/10

Rudd still needs desperately to kick a goal and I would feel happier if he chose something other than the health service to take a punt at, perhaps a national dog and cat licensing system would be good training before tackling a such a safety critical service.

Fran says:

02:05pm | 13/04/10

I actually thing Rudd is better sticking with gestures and symbolism. Keep the heavy stuff for the other mob. Things like Myschool, 2020, Sorry, Grocery and fuel watch. even the stimulas package.  Most people like all the above and think it a good idea. Let support him in the light stuff and not force him into Health, Education etc, it could go really wrong

Moggy says:

05:03pm | 13/04/10

Rudd’s big hoo-ha about the health system is all about taking our dumb, stupids brains off the enormous debacles he’s made in throwing away our taxes. He’s a total mis-manager of the economy & a usless PM…..apart from posing with little children & sick people for teh cameras. He should resign in shame. I hope he doesn’t because I want to see him kicked out by us the tax payers.

Ben says:

03:17pm | 13/04/10

Actually, by providing beds a large proportion of the problems would be ameliorated. As a public hospital worker, I can assure you my nose isn’t in any trough. However, I have the unique experience of working in an emergency dept. on a daily basis and know for a fact that these proposals are not going to work.

Simply throwing money at the hospitals and coming up with beauracratic targets are not going to achieve the ends he is predicting. If you think the money going into the health system is lining doctor’s and nurses’ pockets you are painfully naive.

Henry says:

03:32pm | 13/04/10

Have managed a group of private hospitals in a capital city.  I can tell you that most of the money will go on Nurses Union led wage demands and doctors just rorting the system.  Its not the workers - its the Unions and the AMA that are the problem.  Happened year in year out no matter the government.

Inigo says:

10:41pm | 13/04/10

Henry, if you managed private hospitals, you know that private doctors bill the patient directly, or bill the patient’s health fund.  Nurses working in private hospitals are paid by the private hospital.  Mr. Rudd’s proposals have nothing to do with private sector hospitals, their billing arrangements, or their staff.  In contrast, in the public health sector doctors (and nurses) are wage earners.  I don’t know but I think it is likely the collective wages of the professionals at the “pointy” end of health care in the public hospitals represent less than 10% of the total public health budget.  So I can’t see how your suggestion that funding changes will “line the pockets” of doctors or nurses is at all credible.  Moreover, we are told there is no extra money until 2015 except for dedicated purposes, the changes proposed until then a matter of bookkeeping between state and federal governments.

Moggy says:

11:10pm | 13/04/10

Oh yeah Henry…I suppose you studied for ten years…and did hour after hour of work as an intern, often going without sleep for over forty eight hours then having to find time for study & lectures.  And my sister who nursed on a pittance for years is now crippled with back injuries from it. Yeah….greedy bastards have no right to be paid what they’re worth….give the big money to the ninnies who couldn’t be bothered working hard at their studies & now work as a labourer…if they work, & stuff being bothered with healing the sick & injured…..yeah the bloke that holds up the bar in the pub sure needs a brain surgeons income…for god sake…beers a bit pricey these days ay!!!!

Willy K says:

09:57am | 14/04/10

Moggy…  doctors and nurses need to go into their VOCATION for the right reason.  Its not a profession its a calling and they way they always have their hands out for money is disgusting.

If you don’t like the hours, the study, or the money - then don’t go into it!  If you want money then be an entrepreneur or a business person.  Just stop the hero act and the non-stop whinging!  Australians are sick and tired of hearing what f’n hero’s nurses, doctors (and teachers) are.

Put up or change jobs like everyone else.  And doctors do rort private health insurers and f it all up for everyone due to their greed.

Henry says:

10:09am | 14/04/10

Moggy I have done ten years study, worked in London and NYC in investment banking and also for our biggest miner.  I have done my time and hours that you would not believe.  Never had I seen the rorts until I entered the heath profession!  99% of all doctors were on double what the CEO and I were on!  The Nurses Federation was the most difficult body I have ever had to deal with and the most money driven - including dealing with the Morgan Stanleys and SSB’s of this world!

The AMA is simply a protective cover to enable doctors to plunder the health funds and gouge patients. 

If I were to put out in public in black and white how these bodies really operate - the average Australian in the street would be shocked and disgusted and the govts would be forced to launch and inquiry.

Glad to be out of the ‘industry’.  What we have is as good as it will get.

Mark says:

02:45pm | 13/04/10

Trying?

Well whoop de doop. they are trying.

Trying like the batt scheme.
Trying like the boat people.
Trying like the BER.
Trying like fuel watch.
Trying like grocery watch.
Trying like (LAWL) Copenhagen.
Trying like little Gracie.

That is the problem. They are trying to put this whole thing off to 2015. What a farce. What a joke.

Winners actually get to do stuff with prom queen mate. Doing you best doesn’t cut when they are talking in billions of dollars and not really doing anything. It doesn’t cut it when they are messing with the nations health service.

With this lots managerial expertise lets hope the states see telling him to shove it is a good bet anyway.

Trying be damned. Do it right or get out.

(Please note I am not a member of the Labor Party of Australia - just a heads up)

Marcus says:

02:45pm | 13/04/10

Dear Leo,
Rosanna Capolingua’s bio fails to mention her longstanding membership of the liberal party or the fact that as president of the AMA she managed to get rid of even the slightest hint of the AMA being nonpartisan, leading to a government that basically doesn’t listen to anything the AMA has to say any more.
I suspect that is what Doc Martin was getting at.

Ben says:

03:22pm | 13/04/10

Mrs Hinton - Patients with chest pain that are concerning for heart attacks are given a category 2 (in the Australian Triage Scale), placed in a monitored environment, and by the college of emergency medicine guidelines, the vast majority are seen withinin 10mins. I appreciate that it must have been scary for you, however I imagine that there were features of your history and ECG that made staff feel that your presentation wasn’t as urgent as you may have thought. I sincerely doubt they felt ‘you were going to kick the bucket at anytime’...

I suspect the real system failure here was in the poor communication you received.

Randal says:

04:18pm | 13/04/10

Really Ben is that so.. funny my father was having a heart attack and was told to wait before treatment as the hospital was busy and he had to wait with no treatment.

He was having a heart attack and required emergency surgery that evening, I guess the mystical triage you speak of does not work for everybody… or perhaps just in theory!

Julia says:

06:12pm | 13/04/10

Remember when Paul Keating had to use the public system? He used the one hospital in Canberra. Got in no worries, had a private room….

Christian Real says:

06:38am | 14/04/10

Problems are what people make for themselves, then they use the Government of the day to attack and blame for their problems.
I have been in Hospital twice this years so far, and I have no complaints, the attention given to me was outstanding and yet other people complain about hospitals.
The thing I found is that waiting times in the hospitals could be cut if people stopped   misusing the outpatients clinics at the hospitals when they should be seeing their GP’s instead of clogging up the Hospitals with minor ailments.

Mark says:

08:42am | 14/04/10

Why then Christian are you so happy is going to change it all up at massive cost?

Christian Real says:

11:11am | 14/04/10

Mark, I have not had any problem with the public hospitals in both New South Wales or Queensland and I have always been looked after and cared for without any lengthy or unreasonable delays.
I was about 1 hour early for a hospital appointment yesterday and I had only just sat down , when they called me in.
I don’t know why some people complain about the hospital, because if I ever needed an operation or needed to be admitted for anything else, the hospitals have been mavelous.
The thing is that by having all of the Hospitals funded and sourced by the Federal government it would bring them under one tier of government instead of being spead out under 6 States and two Territories.

John A Neve says:

06:24am | 14/04/10

Filk,

Are you serious?  Just tell us all how Rudd could “have fixed health 3 years ago”?

Jon says:

12:27pm | 14/04/10

By doing his job! Why fly all over the place and waste your time on Rove when you should be working with the states to change health care policy for the better!

Christian Real says:

01:39pm | 14/04/10

Filk, And John howard could have fixed the Health system 14 - 15   years ago, he had 12 year in office to do something but did nothing, and Tony Abbott just happened to be Minister for Health, says a lot for Mr Abbott now, doesn’t it.
It appears Abbott was Health Minister for almost 5 years, but what exactly did he do to improve Health and hospitals?

John A Neve says:

01:57pm | 14/04/10

Jon,

Rudd wasn\t even in office three years ago!!!!!
No wonder this country is in a mess, to think you vote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christian Real says:

04:14pm | 14/04/10

`Wayne Mead,
The Liberals had 12 years in Government, and what did they do for Health and our Hospitals?
It appears that Tony Abbott had five years as Health Minister in that same Liberal Government and what did he do for Health and our Hospitals>
The answer to both those questions is Nothing !
Abbott did nothing when he had the chance to do so as Health Minister and chances are that he still would not do anything to improve the Health System or the Hospitals even if he was elected Prime Minister.
Abbott is an opportunist that would say anything to get elected and renege on it later, and it was plain and simple when he could not even win the Health debate between himself and Rudd,that he was simply out of touch, and out of ideas and had no policy at all on Health.

Diane says:

06:28pm | 15/04/10

You’re not the only one worried about e-health Ben. And your last line says exactly what’s wrong with it - that it could stop people from seeking treatment if they’re worried about their privacy being violated.

Already, doctors have a hard enough time getting patients to tell them about embarrassing/stigmatised conditions like incontinence, sexual dysfunction, genital warts, mental health issues etc. That’ll be much worse if the patient is worried that the information will be shared with every single doctor, nurse, pharmacist etc that they see - and you do see dozens if not hundreds of health care professionals over your lifetime (think of every pharmacy you’ve been to, and every different pharmacist within each pharmacy, think of every single nurse for every different hospital visit, think of specialists in different fields etc. You might only have one GP, but you see many many other health professionals as well).

Then there’s the issue of hackers, marketers trying to get hold of the data, viruses. Once that data is out there, there will be no going back. No amount of apologising by Nicola Roxon will ever make up for it.

Patients should be put back in control. Any e-health system should be opt-in, and give the patient detailed control over every little bit of information that can be shared and with whom. Otherwise, like you say, people will avoid doctors.