Doorstop - AMA Vice President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, Chair, AMACGP, Dr David Rivett, Parliament House, Canberra - Doctors lobby politicians about health policy; Alzheimer's disease

HAIKERWAL:      Good morning ladies and gentlemen.  Thank you very much for coming for this doorstop.

I have with me a group of doctors from all across Australia.  These doctors work in general practice, they know general practice, they know the problems they face as general practitioners, but most importantly they know the problems their patients face in getting medical access an in affordability and the problems that we're going to face providing those services into the future.

The purpose of these sets of meetings is to meet with politicians here to advise them, from a position of knowledge, what the situation is and, how to fix it.

I have with me Dr David Rivett who is the Chairman of the Council of General Practice - that's the peak body of the AMA regarding general practice issues, and he will say a few words after me.

The key thing here is access to services, and we see this as the major problem with the number of doctors in the community diminishing quite rapidly.

Affordability, of course, is something that's on everybody's minds.  And what we see now is gaps increasing, and we need to fix the solution there - the problem there - and we need to make sure that gaps are not so huge and that there is a safety net there to put people in so they know there is a limit to how much exposure they have to medical fees.  David.

RIVETT:                We've come to tell a variety of politicians that Medicare is failing our patients and their constituents.  Annually, they're being dudded by inadequate rebates that makes services unaffordable and puts GPs out of practice or forces them to charge increasing gaps.  Such has got to come to an end.  Medicare's got to be reinvigorated with proper funding to provide quality services that's accessible to all Australians.

QUESTION:         Is the Government's $900 million Fairer Medicare Package a good starting point to fixing Medicare?

RIVETT:             It's a package that should never see the light of day.  We need a rejigged brave government, a revamping, much more commitment to Medicare by all parties.

QUESTION:         In the light of the hints that Tony Abbott has been giving about the nature of the discussions he'll have with the Democrats, do you still think it's possible that the Government will increase the rebate?

RIVETT:             Anything is possible.  We live in hope.  This is something that's needed to be done for a long time.  The Government is now looking at the problem, which is a huge step forward.  Something in the past, they have told us it's a problem of our imagination.  GP under-supply and lack of access to GPs throughout Australia, they've told us is a beat-up by the AMA in the past.  But they're now coming to the realisation that this is a factual situation which they're going to address in a meaningful manner.

QUESTION:         How much money is needed to throw at the system?

RIVETT:             That's hard to say.  It depends on the particular approach that's taken by government.  Depends what Australians want - how much they want to pay out of their pockets, how much they expect their government to pay.

QUESTION:         Well, what is your prescription for fixing these problems?

RIVETT:             The AMA has multiple remedies that need to be enacted as a group, and we're happy to give you details of those.

QUESTION:         ...... at the moment?

HAIKERWAL:      We're in a situation now that everybody, every party is interested in this topic.  And it's very important that we, as informed members of the medical community who look after patients on a daily basis, give our opinion to each party, and that's what we're here to do.

QUESTION:         Is there much level of goodwill between the AMA and the new Health Minister?  Are you willing to give him a go?

HAIKERWAL:      The AMA is willing to give the new Minister a go.  The AMA is willing to give the Government a go, and we're simply here to advise all parties and listen to what they have to say and tell them whether what they're saying actually has legs or not.

Before we finish, if I could say one last thing please. 

We understand that Hazel Hawke has come out today to say that she has Alzheimer's disease.  We feel for her and her family.  Alzheimer's is, and the dementias are a major problem in health, in this country.  And the AMA believes dementia needs to be a national health priority because it's going to affect so many of us.  Access to medications for dementia is a major issue, and that too has to be resolved.

Thank you.

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