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- 17 September 2002
Rural Health Services
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Page: 4818
Mr BLACK: My question without notice is to the Minister for Health. What is the latest information on initiatives to improve rural health services?
Mr KNOWLES: Honourable members who attended the Australian Labor Party country conference in Cooma will recall that at that conference the Premier announced an $11 million plan to boost the rural health work force. The plan included: $3.5 million to provide up to 30 new training positions for general practice proceduralists, with particular focus on general practice obstetrics, anaesthetics, surgery and mental health; $3.6 million over three years to increase the number of anaesthetic training positions in rural areas; and a further $3 million to provide back-up locum services for rural doctors, nurses and allied professionals, particularly those who work in isolation and need time out, time with their families or time to improve their skills.
Earlier today the Government took our plans for rural health further with the announcement of an additional $25 million worth of initiatives to strengthen existing services, provide new services and ensure, wherever possible, that those services are provided closer to where people live. The plan has been built on the long experience of more than 500 doctors, nurses and health professionals from rural New South Wales. Their experience has delivered a commonsense plan to address many of the pressure points in rural communities.
Honourable members who represent rural electorates would appreciate that under this $25 million there is almost $22 million recurrent expenditure for additional orthopaedic services, cancer services, renal services, including dialysis, and cardiac care. For example, the $7.5 million additional recurrent expenditure for extra orthopaedic elective surgery has been worked out in co-operation with not only rural orthopods but also the Australian Orthopaedic Association. The money will allow orthopaedic surgeons to undertake the extra elective surgery they need to maintain their income levels and will act as an attraction for doctors to practise in rural centres.
At the same time, it will ensure that the on-call trauma work, attendance at motor vehicle accidents and presentations-areas vital to rural communities-are well and truly covered. The funding for cardiac care will see the development of on-site catheter laboratories which will dramatically improve the care of those hundreds of patients who currently have to travel to Sydney for their diagnostic cardiac services and will serve as a further incentive for cardiologists to work in rural communities. Similar approaches have been taken to cancer care and renal services, which are both the focus of increased funds and better access for rural communities.
The Government has announced a further expansion of rural health transport. This major initiative includes an additional $2.5 million and a streamlined process for regular users of health-related rural transport. It will include an additional 20,000 passenger trips, or an estimated additional two million kilometres, to our already expanded patient transport programs. This plan has been underpinned by a further commitment to teaching and training rural health practitioners in rural settings-an area of need identified by clinicians, doctors, nurses and health professionals. The clinicians involved in this plan have recommended, and the Government has accepted, that there needs to be an Institute of Rural Clinical Services and Teaching to underpin the ongoing development of our rural health work force.
This is an Australian first. In addition to its prime role of providing professional and academic support for rural clinicians, the body will be given the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the rural health plans. These are just some of the large number of initiatives contained in the Government's rural health plan, which has been built off the back of the experience of hundreds of doctors and nurses. The people on the front line have identified their needs and the Government has responded to them. I thank every single one of those individuals for the work they have done. When the Opposition, through its spokesperson, carps and criticises, it is not criticising the Government. In effect, it is having a shot at all the doctors and nurses who have been engaged in this work.
I know that the honourable member for Lismore will not be critical of this plan because of the sterling effort over the past year of one of the leading surgeons at Lismore, Austin Curtin, to build this plan. Equally, I refer to Bill Hunter in Moree. I am sure the honourable member who represents Moree will not complain because the first person he will hear from is Bill Hunter, a man who was recently awarded an Order of Australia for his commitment and service to medical practice in rural communities. These are some of the people, 500 in all, who have worked with the Government over the past 12 months to build this plan. This year the Government will roll out $36 million in recurrent expenditure to back up their needs and to provide additional services, additional support, additional positions, work force initiatives and additional teaching and training.
The Opposition is not pleased that the plan follows step by step the blueprint laid down by Ian Sinclair, a former National Party leader, who, because of his dedication and commitment to rural health and rural communities, has been working with the Government, with those 500 doctors and nurses, to make sure that this plan is delivered. Over the past several months Ian Sinclair has been back in the saddle travelling around rural New South Wales consulting and talking with country communities about their response to this plan. I have many testimonials-which I will not trouble the House by reading onto Hansard-recognising the fact that this plan addresses many of the concerns raised by the professionals on behalf of the communities they serve. This plan is a tribute to them. I appreciate the work they have done and I thank every single one of them. We have produced a great result which allows the Government to put in place large amounts of money targeted to where they are needed and to provide better health care for rural New South Wales.
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