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Interview Dr Bill Glasson, AMA President, with George Moore & Paul B Kidd, Radio 2UE - Appointment as AMA President

E & OE - PROOF ONLY

COMPERE: The Australian Medical Association, or the AMA as we know it, has a new President this morning and his name is Dr Bill Glasson.

Dr Glasson is taking over the reins from former high profile President, Dr Kerryn Phelps. As the peak body representing doctors in the country, the AMA had a rather frosty relationship with the current Federal Government reaching a new low I think with the previous Health Minister, Dr Michael Wooldridge.

Brisbane-based ophthalmologist, Dr Bill Glasson, he's on the line now. Good afternoon.

GLASSON: Good afternoon to you.

COMPERE: And congratulations too on the election.

GLASSON: Thanks very much indeed.

COMPERE: This happened, what, this morning, was it?

GLASSON: Yes, a couple of hours ago, yes.

COMPERE: Was it out of the blue? Were you expecting it?

GLASSON: Oh I felt I was a bit of a wild horse. I was have just done a recent survey that shows that something like 20% of the obstetricians will be leaving again within the next 12 months. We know that 40% of obstetricians and gynaecologists in training are not going to do the O-part, not going to do the obstetrics part. We are heading for a huge shortage of obstetricians in this country.

Now it's just ridiculous when we have one of the best obstetric records in the world, for both the mother and the baby, yet we've had one of the highest litigations in the world.

COMPERE: Yeah.

GLASSON: And the trouble with that is the system, though we have had major reforms in the system, as you know, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland, at the tort law level. But there needs to be further major reform in that medical indemnity before it's actually going to impact on the viability of - or affordability as well, of the premiums. Because at the end of the day, we've done all these reforms but the costs of premiums are still high.

And the average mother out there can't afford it. And so that puts more pressure back on the public system and essentially we're on a downward spiral. So we've got to have an environment in which things are affordable so doctors can continue to practice for high quality medicine as they have done for years and not sort of fear litigation. And this whole sort of environment which we live in in society has to change. And it is changing I feel, but it has to change quicker. Otherwise we're going to wake up tomorrow and we won't have a medical profession.

COMPERE: All right, now you've got a lot of work to do so we'll let you get on with it.

GLASSON: Thank you very much indeed.

COMPERE: And thank you very much for your time. Congratulations on being elected and good luck in the post.

COMPERE: 'Bye, 'bye.

COMPERE: That's Dr Bill Glasson. He's a Brisbane-based ophthalmologist and he's just been elected this morning as the new head of the AMA, the Australian Medical Association, of course replacing Dr Kerryn Phelps.

COMPERE: He certainly sounds as though he knows his onions.

COMPERE: Yes, it's her turn to stand down. Yeah he looks like he's going to come out fighting.

COMPERE: Which is exactly what we want. And I'll talk more about the bullet-proof screens in the hospitals which I think...

COMPERE: That's a newie on me, George.

COMPERE: Yeah, we'll talk about that a little later in this program.

Ends

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