The dramatic plan outlined on Wednesday 3 March for the funding of Australian health care has been described by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as a means to ensuring Australians continue to enjoy access to world class health care.
The sweeping reforms detailed in A National Health and Hospital’s Network For Australia’s Future, include Commonwealth funding of public hospitals and a full funding takeover of GP and primary health care services. Hospitals will also be run by local hospital authorities. Charles Sturt University (CSU) – a leading educator of health professionals for rural and regional Australia - has the following academics available to comment on the major reforms:
- Professor of Rural and Remote Pharmacy Patrick Ball from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga.
“The reforms are a step in the right direction," said Professor Ball. "The present system has lead to the well-documented issues around cost and blame shifting and fragmentation of services. This is particularly apparent in pharmacy where because of contractual arrangements for medications in our hospitals, patients coming to hospital are regularly switched to different medicine brands of different colours and shapes. This is highly confusing for many patients who when discharged, take their prescription to their own pharmacy and find everything changes. Most Australians can expect to take at least one medication daily for the last 30 years of their life, and multiple medications for their last 10 years. If as a nation we get our medicines right, this will prevent all sorts of disease-related complications and keep our citizens well and out of hospital. This new environment should facilitate progress."
- Associate Professor Julia Coyle is Head of the School of Community Health at CSU in Albury-Wodonga and a Physiotherapist. "Charles Sturt University's committment to enhancing rural health practice and preparing practitioners for effective practice in rural settings is congruent with the Government's intent to improve rural communities health," said Professor Coyle."Allied health not only focuses on helping people recover and regain their full potential following illness or injury, a large part of our practice is in preventing people from entering hospitals. We are used to educating professionals for practice in different state systems and have experienced first hand the complexity of preparing allied health students for practice in especially Victoria and NSW, but also in the ACT, and other states and territories. The government’s reforms should help to reduce the complexity through the reduction of state differences in health service provision."
- Associate Professor in Nursing Ann Bonner from the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Wagga Wagga and a Registered Nurse. Also on Board of Management of the CSU Centre for Inland Health. “The current funding system involving the Commonwealth and each State and Territory has lead to a complicated web of health care that is difficult to navigate for the ordinary person,” said Professor Bonner. “As Australians age and are more likely to suffer chronic health conditions, it is imperative that an easy and seamless health care system is available, regardless of how it is funded and controlled, and, more importantly, where they live. We already know that Australians who live in rural and remote regions are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to having accessible and affordable health care, so while sufficient detail has not yet been announced, providing leadership on health care reform is welcome.”
- Associate Professor Sue McAlpin from the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga was awarded her PhD in 2010. A 'decade of chaos’ is how Professor McAlpin has labelled health reforms experienced by regional Australia in the1990s. Read more here.
- Professor in Paramedic Practice and Leadership, Peter O'Meara from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Bathurst is available to comment on the reform’s implications for paramedics and ambulance services.
Charles Sturt University educates and graduates future health professionals, many of whom go on to work in rural and regional communities across Australia. Through its collaborative research, the University builds upon the ability of inland communities to manage chronic conditions.
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