Australian Medical Association

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government’s significant investment in medical training with the announcement of big increases in the number of medical training places across the board.

The Government has announced there will be 1200 general practice training places by 2014, 975 Pre-vocational General Practice Placements Program (PGPPP) places by 2013, and 900 specialist training positions in private, community and rural settings by 2014.

Dr Pesce said the Government has recognised the important role of general practice with a sharp increase in GP training positions and more than doubling the number of PGPPP places.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the public hospitals policy unveiled by the Prime Minister is major reform that must be taken seriously and given due consideration by the States and the health sector because we need a system that will give better access to quality health services for the Australian population into the future.

Dr Pesce said the policy is a credible response to the problems and deficiencies in the public hospital system and is evidence that there has been considerable consultation with patients and with doctors.

“The AMA supports the Prime Minister’s preparedness to take responsibility for health through a more dominant role for the Commonwealth in funding our public hospitals,” Dr Pesce said.

“Upon first examination, the new National Health and Hospitals Network is responding to the needs of patients.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, is in Canberra today and will be available for comment on the Government’s health reform plans outside the National Press Club following the Prime Minister’s address.

Dr Pesce will be in Canberra for the rest of the day and will be available for further media interviews upon request.

Dr Pesce Doorstop:

Time:        After Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s National Press Club Address
Date:       Wednesday 3 March 2009
Venue:     Outside the National Press Club

The AMA welcomes the decision by the Medical Board of Australia to include vocationally registered GPs on the Specialist Register of the new national registration scheme that takes effect from 1 July 2010.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said the AMA last week wrote to the Board recommending that vocationally registered GPs be given Specialist General Practitioner status.

“The Board has made the right decision,” Dr Pesce said.

The AMA is calling on the Federal Government to legislate to allow doctors to own and operate pharmacies.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that co-locating pharmacies within, adjacent to, or in close proximity to a general practice – under the ownership of the doctor – would provide significant benefits and convenience to patients.

“Incorporating pharmacy services into general practice would improve patient care by allowing GPs to lead a team of co-located health professionals, including pharmacists and general practice nurses, in providing multidisciplinary health care to patients at the local community level.

The AMA is urging the recently established Medical Board of Australia to ensure that the new national registration arrangements for doctors do not discriminate against 11,000 vocationally registered general practitioners.

The Board is currently finalising the criteria that will determine which GPs will be included on its specialist register.

The AMA has welcomed the decision by the Board to formally recognise GPs as specialists.  However, there is concern about reports in the medical press of a recommendation that only Fellows of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and some Fellows of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) will be recognised as ‘specialist general practitioners’.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that such a decision would leave thousands of highly qualified GPs shunned and professionally out in the cold.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government's decision to accept the major recommendations arising from the Review of the Medical Training Review Panel (MTRP).

Dr Pesce said the medical profession is pleased that the MTRP will have an ongoing expanded role in medical education and training, and that it will work closely with Health Workforce Australia.

“This is great news for medical students and doctors in training,” Dr Pesce said.

The MTRP is the only body that brings together all relevant stakeholders in medical education - including the AMA, medical schools, prevocational medical education councils, medical colleges and health departments.  The MTRP was established in 1997 to monitor and report on the number of medical specialist training places in Australia.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the Coalition’s policy announcement for local community-controlled management boards for major public hospitals in NSW and Queensland is a step in the right direction, but more detail on how the policy would roll out nationally is needed.

Dr Pesce said the AMA has for some time been calling for more clinical input to public hospital management at the local level.

“The Coalition’s proposal is heading in the right direction in terms of clinical engagement in decision making,” Dr Pesce said.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government announcement of $9.1 million for new Indigenous mothers and baby services as the latest instalment in its commitment to close the gap on Indigenous health inequality by 2030.

Dr Pesce said that every new funding announcement for Indigenous health services will make a difference - however, in regard to overall progress, the AMA endorses the Close the Gap campaign’s Shadow Report, which finds that the Federal Government still lacks a comprehensive plan to fulfil its commitment to close the gap.

“The commitment that all Australian governments have shown to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes and life expectancy provides a tremendous opportunity to make a real difference,” Dr Pesce said.

“We must not waste this opportunity.  The $1.6 billion COAG funding for Indigenous health programs was a good start for closing the gap, and today’s announcement is further good news, but the Shadow Report shows that a more strategic coordinated approach is needed.”

AMA Vice President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that calls by the self-medication industry for pharmacists to treat so-called ‘minor ailments’ such as coughs, colds, sore throats and back pain instead of doctors could put people with these ailments at risk of more serious health problems.

Dr Hambleton said that minor ailments are not always minor.

“Respiratory tract infections and back pain are often precursors to more serious conditions and require proper diagnosis,” Dr Hambleton said.

“Doctors are skilled in diagnosis, pharmacists aren’t.