Caps on GP payments bad for patients

THE coalition and the Greens fear some Australians will be priced out of basic health care under reported changes to Medicare service payments.

The Gillard government is tipped to place an indexation freeze on what it pays doctors under a savings measure in Tuesday’s federal budget.

General practitioners now receive a government co-contribution of $36 a visit for each patient.

The $1.5 billion in savings will be used to help fund the DisabilityCare program.

“What that means is fewer GPs will bulk bill and consumers will have to foot the cost,” Australian Greens health spokesman Richard Di Natale told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

“People who can’t afford it are effectively priced out of health care.”

Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton says doctors are unlikely to absorb the extra costs and will instead pass these on to patients.

“At a time when we want to keep people out of expensive tertiary hospital settings and provide good primary care arrangements for them, the government’s going to make it harder to get in and see doctors,” he said.

“If these costs are passed onto patients, they’ll be passed on through higher out-of-pocket expenses.”

Asked about the issue on Tuesday, Treasurer Wayne Swan declined to comment, saying only that one media report was inaccurate.

Health focus for region

ON May 1 the Western New South Wales Local Health District Board held a meeting at the Robey Centre at the Multi Purpose Service with the Bathurst Board members and Health Council representatives from Oberon, Blayney, Bathurst, Rylstone and Cowra. New chief executive Scott McLachlan discussed the development of a strategic plan for the district with a focus on five main health areas. 

These are smoking, obesity/diet/alcohol, diabetes, early childhood intervention and mental health. 

Scott is taking a proactive role in working with the community to identify gaps and promote available health services. 

He is keen to work with the health council in achieving this and discussions about physiotherapy and palliative care services for Oberon community were held. 

The strategic plan will also focus on the prevention of disease and illness. Scott also took this opportunity to meet with the mayor, John McMahon and General Manager of Oberon Council Alan Cairney. 

They were able to discuss the aged care services being developed for Oberon and the future of services in the district. 

He was very impressed with the level of services available to the Oberon community compared to similar sized towns in the WNSW Local Health District and acknowledged the role of Council and the Community in supporting the development of the Aged Care Facility with Columbia Homes. 

Special recognition for our life-saving nurses and midwives

DUBBO MP Troy Grant joined NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner to mark International Nurses Day on Monday, by thanking the state’s 47,500 nurses and midwives for their dedication, skill and compassion.

Ms Skinner chose the day to announce the establishment of the inaugural NSW Health Awards for Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery, which was welcomed by Mr Grant whose mother spent many years as a nurse.

There will be nine categories for community members, patients, colleagues and professionals to nominate nurses deserving of the award.

Nominations will open online http://www.health.nsw.gov.au on Monday, June 3.

NSW committee approves medical cannabis

A NSW parliamentary committee has taken the bold step of recommending cannabis be available in leaf form to ease the suffering of the terminally ill.

Patients with cancer, full-blown AIDS or other fatal diseases would be allowed to possess and use up to 15 grams of dry cannabis.

But they wouldn’t be able to grow their own cannabis and would need to buy the drug from illegal dealers.

Committee chair Sarah Mitchell said people at the end of their life who used cannabis to relieve their pain or stimulate their appetite shouldn’t be criminalised.

The upper house committee is calling on the government to amend the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act, describing the move as “both appropriate and compassionate”.

Patients would need to be certified by a treating specialist, who would put them and their carers on a register overseen by the NSW Ministry of Health.

Labor MP and committee member Adam Searle said they had heard “compelling evidence” from individual sufferers as well as clinicians.

“The unanimity across the political spectrum sends a very clear signal to the government that these recommendations should be very closely considered,” he told reporters.

The committee – which included Liberal, National, Labor, Greens and Shooters party members – was unanimous in its findings.

“The challenge now is to the leaders of all political parties to come on board with what now is a humanitarian relief effort,” Greens MP John Kaye said.

“This is not going to feed any recreational use of cannabis. We are talking about people who are mostly about to die.”

The report stated its preference for cannabis-based pharmaceuticals but noted only one such product, used to treat multiple sclerosis, was available in Australia.

It also called on Health Minister Jillian Skinner to write to the commonwealth – which governs the regulation of drugs – to advocate expanding the current scheme.

Committee member and Labor MP Amanda Fazio conceded the issue of supply was a tricky area that needed further investigation.

Labor MP Luke Foley said the issue was now firmly back on the political agenda.

Eighteen states in America have legalised the use of cannabis for medical purposes, along with Canada and Israel.

HIV nurse slams Australia needle danger

AUSTRALIA is way behind the US and Europe in protecting medical workers from sharp objects, says a former US nurse who contracted HIV and hepatitis C through a needle injury.

Dr Karen Daley, in Melbourne to attend a nursing conference, says it is “surprising and distressing” that Australia does not have safety regulations.

The US made safety devices mandatory in 2001, and the UK and European Union also have regulations.

Around 18,000 Australians, mainly nurses, report needle injuries each year, according to 2008 figures.

Although individual hospitals are making an effort to improve safety, “there is limited progress in making safe devices available to the workforce”, Dr Daley says.

“It is distressing to find that a wealthy, forward-thinking country like Australia, with a first-class health system, is so far behind.”

Dr Daley, who has a PhD in nursing, has been campaigning for safety since she was infected by a needle protruding from a container in 1998.

“At the beginning I didn’t know if I would survive. What I did know was that my injury was preventable.”

Needle injuries are among the most prevalent and potentially most dangerous injuries in medical settings.

Dr Daley, president of the American Nurses Association, says a major international concern is safety in the operating theatre, but surgeons can be resistant to change.

“It is important the whole team gets engaged in the conversation.”

Australian safety campaigner Anne Trimmer says there are a number of devices that significantly reduce the risk of injuries.

A report by the Medical Technology Association of Australia shows around three-quarters of injuries could be prevented through the use of safety-engineered medical devices, she says.

Lee Thomas, the federal secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation, says the health sector should align its safety protocols with legislation that requires the use of engineering controls to eliminate foreseeable workplace hazards.

“Hospitals and the health sector need to take up the challenge to be proactive in protecting their staff,” she says, calling for safety-engineered devices to be made available “sooner rather than later”.

Rich 200 member Ed Bateman gives away $85 million

Ed Bateman wants to give money away while he can still enjoy the process of giving.

The managing director of $2.5 billion listed medical services business Primary Health Care Ed Bateman has informed the market this morning of his plans to give away a large part of his holding in the company, worth about $85 million.

Bateman’s wealth has risen strongly over the past 12 months. In May last year, he had an estimated net worth of $420 million. This has since risen to about $500 million on the back of strong growth of the Primary Health Care share price.

Bateman wrote that he and his wife, Belinda Bateman, wanted the beneficiaries to “receive these gifts now when they are likely to be of most use and when Dr and Mrs Bateman can enjoy the process of making these gifts”.

He also said that the gifts do not impact on his ongoing commitment to his role as managing director.

Bateman is the second largest shareholder in Primary Health Care. He has 37.2 million shares, which equates to 7.4 per cent of the listed capital.

In this morning’s announcement, Bateman said that after the gifts are made he will retain about 20 million shares.

The split between family and charity is unknown.

Strong performance by the company’s imaging business has helped push up earnings.

Primary Health Care reported earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation of $350 million last year. Its half-ear results suggest the company is on track to achieve its target of $370 million to $380 million this year.