Transcript of Interview on The Circle - 28 April 2010

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28 April 2010

E & OE – Proof Only

Gorgi Coghlan: Welcome back to The Circle. Now the Federal Government is moving ahead with the biggest overhaul yet to Australia's health system. All the states have signed on with the exception of Western Australia, with Health Minister Nicola Roxon trying to sell the scheme.

Meanwhile, the Australian people have questions about how the planned changes will affect them.

When the Health Minister joined us a fortnight ago, you inundated us with emails and Facebook questions, many of which we didn't get time to get to. So today the Minister has kindly offered to help you answer your questions.

And we welcome back Nicola Roxon to The Circle. Thanks for joining us again Minister.

Nicola Roxon: It's a pleasure.

Gorgi Coghlan: Maybe if we talked, first of all, about what's going on, in politics, and your federal health scheme. How are you going with trying to get Western Australia on board, and can your federal plan still go ahead if you don't get them on side.

Nicola Roxon: Look, it absolutely can go ahead if they're not part of the agreement. So far we have the agreement that covers 90 per cent of the population. But we would like Western Australia in the arrangement. We are continuing to talk with them. Obviously health ministers, premiers, and treasurers. They've just lost their Treasurer there. I'm not sure if that makes a difference to whether we can get this deal or not.

But certainly we will keep talking with the West Australians. The first money starts to flow from 1 July.

So that's really the deadline for the West Australians, because we would like them to be in the arrangement, and we'd like money to be able to flow to benefit West Australian patients the same way it can for other patients across the country.

Gorgi Coghlan: Why aren't they signing on the dotted line? What are the issues?

Nicola Roxon: Look, they have a very strong view, not about the health reforms, they said they absolutely agree with the directions of the health reforms. But they're very protective of their GST. They have a strong view that they dig up a lot of Australia's wealth, and don't always feel that they get the right share back.

So it's really an argument about tax, which is an important one for them.

But I would hate it to stand in the way of us being able to implement these important reforms. And I think there is a lot of good will to try to find an answer - because they want shorter emergency department waiting times, they want shorter elective surgery waiting lists, they want extra sub-acute beds, which are beds for people who are in rehabilitation or maybe palliative care, if you've got a family member that's dying and wanting a more appropriate bed.

These are things that are important, whether you live in Perth or Broome or Brisbane or Melbourne. So I think they want to reach an agreement too, but they are very determined about the GST, as are we. So we are now putting our heads together to try to find some way that might be able to get around that road block.

Gorgi Coghlan: And that's right. I mean, all Australians just want a better health care system in the end, don't they?

Nicola Roxon: I don't think people, to be honest, care that much about who's paying for what. What they don't want is to be mucked around by governments and told they can have one program here, and then it ends because of, you know, a State Government does one thing and a Commonwealth Government does others.

So that's what this is actually planned to fix. We reckon we've taken a whole lot of the very serious frustrations out of the system - and a bit of the blame game between levels of government. But ultimately, the measure will be can we get better service for patients. That's what we've put in to - every bit of extra money that's gone into this package, and we're looking forward to implementing it now.

Gorgi Coghlan: Well talking about better services, minister, you've kindly offered to answer all of our viewers questions. And given that…

Nicola Roxon: I'll do my best.

Gorgi Coghlan: … you have got a wonderful gift of the gab, we've got a very fun, cheeky timer…

Nicola Roxon: Okay.

Gorgi Coghlan: … so that's going to come up on screen, just so we can try and get through as many as we can.

Nicola Roxon: All right. As long as your listeners know I can't necessarily do them all justice in 60 seconds or 20 seconds.

Gorgi Coghlan: Absolutely. Okay. No, absolutely. Well why don't we start with one from Nicole? Nicole's going on the waiting list for fusion surgery for a dislocated shoulder. The lists are eight months to two years depending on the condition, and she wants to know will - with the new changes, will the lists be shorter waits for public for her.

Nicola Roxon: Yeah, look, they absolutely will be. What we've introduced for the first time is an access guarantee, which means the moment you have waited any longer than your doctor recommends is clinically appropriate, you will actually flip into the guarantee, and we will buy that service, if your hospital can't provide it, from another public hospital - even from a private hospital, so that we guarantee a quicker turn over if you can't get your treatment within the appropriate time that's recommended. And depends on your condition. Might be a week*, three months, a year.

Gorgi Coghlan: Sure. Okay. All right, you've made it with time to spare…

Chrissie Swan: Yes.

Gorgi Coghlan: … Minister Roxon. Okay. Trish wants to know - could you please ask what the reforms will mean for people without private health insurance who are on waiting lists for lap band surgery.
These waiting lists are currently five to six years long. Will the reforms mean shorter waiting lists?

Nicola Roxon: They will. Again, following up from our question, it depends on the condition that people have - and so for lap band surgery it depends how severe your need is.

A lot of people are recommended to be seen within a year, but are not being seen within that time. If you're one of those people, then our guarantee will come into place.

You'll be able to get that surgery at another public hospital or a private hospital.

But I do need to emphasise to your viewers - this doesn't happen tomorrow. It gets phased in for us over a four year period, because there is major change that we will be introducing, and I wouldn't like to mislead your viewers that tomorrow they will suddenly have the waiting list cleared.

But it's introducing this new system that then will last forever for that quicker turnover.

Gorgi Coghlan: Okay. Very good. You had 30 seconds to spare on that too, Nicola.

Chrissie Swan: Going great guns here.

Nicola Roxon: Feeling under pressure, but okay. [Laughter]

Gorgi Coghlan: Jacinta asks - will there also be funding for kids with type one diabetes in the future?

Nicola Roxon: Yes, we've done a couple of different things already before this plan was introduced, including making insulin pumps available for children under 18 with type one diabetes. For some children, and parents in particular of these children, it makes the difference between whether they stay awake all night, worrying if their child is going to get into a worse state or not.

So it can really be life changing - and a good stabiliser for them.

We have got a diabetes package, as part of these reforms, so that you can have your regular GP able to provide a package of care that isn't restricted by this number of appointments for this number of specialists - if you need to see a podiatrist or you need to see the eye specialist or you need to see a dietician, that can all be part of your package of care.

Gorgi Coghlan: Okay. And 20 seconds to go. Well done Minister. Are you happy to stick around to answer some more questions?

Nicola Roxon: Absolutely.

Gorgi Coghlan: Fantastic.

Gorgi Coghlan: Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon is with us on The Circle couch today and she's answering your questions about the Government's planned changes to the health system.

Nicola, maybe if we just touch on immunisation, a topic that's been in the news for the past week. What's the Government's stance on that? There's been a bit of confusion, of course, about under-five-year-olds and over-five-year-olds.

Nicola Roxon: Look, we're very clear that people should still get their vaccinations, particularly the elderly should continue to get seasonal flu vaccine. They're the ones who are most vulnerable, so the over-65s.

The swine flu vaccine is still appropriate for children so anyone particularly who might be travelling or worried about children spreading the disease easily at child care centres or primary schools can still get those vaccines.

The only one that has been suspended is the seasonal flu vaccine for children under five and that's not provided usually free-of-charge by the Commonwealth. WA had a particular program and that's presented some issues but vaccination protects people from more serious illness and the Government is really determined to make sure people don't lose confidence in a program which has actually saved many, many lives for more than 40 years.

Gorgi Coghlan: Well done, and again under - in case you've just tuned in, we're also - the Minister's agreed to answer our questions within 60 seconds.

Nicola Roxon: You guys are taking more time than me!

Chrissie Swan: I know, I know, let's get to it. Ainslie and Josh want to know about home birth and why Australia is the only country that's banning home birth.

Nicola Roxon: Well, Australia's not banning home births. This has been very controversial. What the Government is doing is expanding when women can choose access to midwives so that we don't only have care by doctors or obstetricians, that we also allow women the choice to be cared for by midwives.

They can still do that at home but they don't have Commonwealth funding attached to it, so it's not being banned but the options that we are paying for are those that have got some of the additional protections in place. So a midwife may be linked to a hospital, may be linked to a doctor, working in a team that can give the woman the support they need but we don't yet fund home birthing and this is already a big change and I am not, as the Commonwealth Health Minister, yet convinced that that's something we should put Commonwealth money into but we certainly are not seeking to ban it, it's a choice that women can make.

Yumi Stynes: Leah wants to know if you think the pill will ever be free for women.

Nicola Roxon: I don't think so, to be honest. I think it's something that we will always have some contribution for. If it's provided medically, which for some women it is, they might have problems with their periods or other things, but otherwise no, I don't think that's on the agenda.

Yumi Stynes: Do you think the changes will improve access to mental health services?

Nicola Roxon: Definitely. We've actually agreed to some pretty historic changes with the states and territories, particularly for the care that's provided in the community. The Commonwealth wants to fund all of that, again, so that people don't fall between maybe being discharged from hospital if they've had a severe, acute, psychotic episode then being able to have supported accommodation in the community and maybe more visits to either a psychologist or a psychiatrist or a mental health nurse.

We've also agreed to expand this fantastic headspace program which provides services to young people and about 20,000 extra young people will get services because we're doubling that program. It's for 12 to 25-year-olds. [Buzzer]

Gorgi Coghlan: That's the only one.

Nicola Roxon: …that but I just got there.

Chrissie Swan: No, you made it.

Denise Drysdale: I'll go with you, you were right on the end there.

Chrissie Swan: You made it.

Gorgi Coghlan: And one from Suzanne. What about making massage, aroma therapy and more natural health therapies part of the scheme and get doctors on board to support it?

Nicola Roxon: Yeah, look, that's not a priority for us. We know that's a choice that a lot of people make, to be able to look after themselves in all sorts of alternative options but it's not one that we're seeking to have be Commonwealth-funded.

There's a big difference between what we say is medically proven and we should fund and what is good for people's wellbeing but not necessarily part of your treatment.

Denise Drysdale: But that's a choice isn't it?

Nicola Roxon: So it's not - it's not on our agenda for now, either.

Gorgi Coghlan: I think I have to say, as someone who is involved in that myself, I've been really impressed with - you're very proactive though about the allied health services which I think is great because you're also looking at, as a population, trying to prevent us from getting sick as well.

Nicola Roxon: Sure.

Gorgi Coghlan: Which I think has been really, really refreshing to hear that from you.

Nicola Roxon: Yes, and look, I think we've taken a decision as a government that we're not going to say that doctors are always the ones who can provide the best care. Pharmacists, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, you know, there's a lot of qualified people in different areas in health care but it doesn't you necessarily go the final step to funding aroma therapy or massage or others. There are alternate remedies that make people feel good and people can make that choice but we wouldn't necessarily fund them.

Yumi Stynes: One last question. It is Autism Awareness Month, what about care for autistic kids?

Nicola Roxon: This is something that's exciting that we've already been able to implement. We have six new autistic child care centres, specifically designed for children under the age of eight with autism, because we know that early intervention and specialised support actually can allow a lot of these children to develop into really highly functioning adults and that's been really well received as well as us expanding Medicare to support children with autism.

I think we're getting a bit of pressure to do even more but that was a very important first step and we're pleased that it's been so successful.

Yumi Stynes: Can we please thank the Minister for joining us today?

Ends

*Category 1: 30 days clinically recommended; 5 days guarantee;
Category 2: 90 days clinically recommended; 15 days guarantee;
Category 3: 365 days clinically recommended; 45 days guarantee