President's update - AMA SA: Rural Health in focus
In his latest President’s update, Dr John Williams acknowledges that is it National Rural Health Month, and visits Kangaroo Island Medical Clinic on his Rural Tour.
Kangaroo Island Medical Clinic doctors and staff Bridget Grimes, Dr Erin O’Halloran, Dr Kyle Fairclough, AMA SA president Dr John Williams, Dr James Doube and Andy, Dr Charles Lew, Dr Christiane Merz and Executive Director of Medical Services Dr Neil Kling. Photo by Stan Gorton, The Islander.
Rural Health in focus
Awareness days, weeks and months come and go, but I couldn’t let November slip by without acknowledging that this is National Rural Health Month. It’s an issue that’s close to my heart.
As many of you know firsthand, working in rural medicine can be challenging. Across Australia, there’s a stark lack of investment per capita in rural health when compared with cities. As doctors, we do our best to provide quality care but it can be difficult to get vital services to our patients when resources are stretched so thin. Despite our best efforts, we know that people who live in rural and remote areas often have less access to medical care and poorer health outcomes than those living in the city.
As the first AMA SA president based in a regional area, I’m working hard to ensure regional doctors have a greater say in the decisions and policies that impact them and their communities. A big part of that has been my rural tour of the state.
On Friday 8 November my tour took me to Kangaroo Island – a region that faces unique challenges due to its geographical separation from the rest of the state. I was fortunate to meet KI Medical Clinic owner Dr James Doube and the dedicated group of doctors he works with at the clinic. It’s clear the Island’s health is in good hands.
On Kangaroo Island and across our state we need targeted investment in rural health to ensure communities get healthcare equal to that of urban communities – central to that is a modern Medicare that adequately meets the country’s complex healthcare requirements.
After years of inadequate indexation, the Medicare rebate no longer bears any relationship to the actual cost of providing high-quality services to patients. The Prime Minister has indicated that Medicare reform will be a part of his pitch to the Australian people at next year’s federal election. At both the state and federal levels, AMA continues to be a clear and determined voice on this issue. We need significant reform as a matter of priority.
Breaking down barriers
I’m pleased to report that I will represent AMA SA in a new nation-leading advisory group that will focus on mitigating barriers to autism assessment and diagnosis in South Australia.
I was appointed to the Autism Assessment and Diagnosis Advisory Group on 8 October by the Assistant Minister for Autism Emily Bourke on behalf of Premier Peter Malinauskas.
This group, which includes key representatives from several medical colleges, will provide advice regarding factors contributing to barriers to autism assessment and diagnosis in South Australia. We’ll also aim to identify opportunities for reform to improve autism assessment and diagnosis, including consideration of a government framework, the National Guidelines for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism and post-assessment and diagnosis support for South Australians.
I thank the South Australian Government for inviting AMA SA to the table. I look forward to working with my colleagues to break down barriers to autism assessment and diagnosis so all South Australians can understand their personal strengths and access the support they need.
Join the conversation
The AMA SA team works hard to keep you informed about the issues which affect you, your patients and the health system more broadly. For real-time updates, I strongly recommend you look us up on social media.
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Yours in good health,
John
