Report Highlights Importance of Medicare Locals
The new report released by the National Health Performance Authority (NHPA) called Australians’ experience with primary health care in 2010-11 reinforces the importance of Medicare Locals.
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7 March, 2013
Health Minister Tanya Plibersek today said a new report released by the National Health Performance Authority (NHPA), Australians’ experience with primary health care in 2010-11, reinforced the importance of Medicare Locals and highlighted the stupidity of the Coalition’s policy to scrap them.
Ms Plibersek said the Commonwealth had initiated major reform of the primary health care system and this report reminds us that where people live can make a difference to their health care and access to GPs.
“Medicare Locals are working to improve coordination between GPs and other health care providers, addressing service gaps and ultimately improving primary health care in local communities,” said Ms Plibersek.
“While the data in this report pre-dates the establishment of Medicare Locals, it reminds us that access to primary health care varies from place-to-place and we need to continue improving the system.”
Ms Plibersek said it was very concerning that Tony Abbott and Peter Dutton have committed to scrapping Medicare Locals if the Coalition ever won government, given the NHPA report showed how much they were needed.
“At a time when patients require better access to primary care, the Liberals want to slash 3,000 jobs from Medicare Locals – including frontline workers like doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, outreach workers and Aboriginal health workers. That is a cut of $1.2 billion out of primary health care over three years”
Ms Plibersek said Medicare Locals would draw on the report as part of their ongoing assessment of health care needs and consult with local GPs and other health professionals to identify opportunities to improve the experience of patients.
Medicare Locals are responsible for a significant number of Commonwealth funded programs. For example they are responsible for planning and funding after hours GP services, mental health services and some childhood immunisations programs.
- For example, the Lower Murray Medicare Local has teamed up with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to help transport Indigenous people with chronic conditions living in remote communities to medical appointments.
- There is Footprints, a program at Newstead in Brisbane which is supported by the Metro North Brisbane Medicare Local through its flexible fund. Footprints uses the money to provide an active outreach service targeting the homeless community in their region to access primary health care and advance care planning.
- And there is a new afterhours service that’s just opened at the Nepean Hospital – helping families in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains access a GP instead of having to turn up to an emergency room.
Nationally, 61 Medicare Locals have been established to identify gaps in primary health care services at the local level, especially for high need and underserviced groups, and to better target services to respond to those gaps.
Ms Plibersek said in the coming months, the NHPA will look at Australians’ experiences with a broader range of health care professionals including use of allied health, specialists and primary care-type emergency department attendances.
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