A Senate inquiry into healthcare on the New South Wales Central Coast has been told the Government is the biggest threat to the future of GP services in the community.
The public hearing, held in Gosford yesterday, is part of a nationwide inquiry into the health system.
Four local GPs painted a grim picture of working in general practice on the Central Coast – highlighting concerns about mounting workloads, a lack of after-hours services, aged care pressures and ever increasing red tape.
West Gosford’s GP super clinic director, Doctor Rodney Beckworth told the Senate Committee the government’s Medicare co-payments would have been the last straw.
“The Government is the biggest threat to a business like mine because they can just turn around at any minute and make a regulation or a change that says you’re done and dusted,” he said.
Doctor Ian Charlton from Kincumber said the status of general practitioners needs to be raised to that of a specialist.
“One of the best drugs you can have is your local GP,” he quipped, highlighting the view that the government overlooks the important role GPs have in local communities.
The Senate Committee was also warned of the inadequacies and growing pressures being placed on local GPs by the region’s ageing population.
The group described how the sector is failing to attract new doctors because the workload and other complicating factors are just too much.
Doctor Beckworth said increasing numbers of nursing home patients are putting strains on already highly-stressed doctors.
“It’s just insane – they’re fielding numerous requests to do a million jobs for the nursing home at their practice,” he said.
“Then they go to the nursing home and what needs to be recognised is the ridiculous amount of un-met need in the facility.
“Then they get up really early in the morning, probably go to another nursing home on the way to work and start the whole show again and hopefully they don’t have a breakdown.”
Committee chairwoman, Labor’s Senator Deborah O’Neill acknowledged the Central Coast’s high proportion of retirees and their health needs provides a valuable glimpse of what is soon to come for the rest of the country.
The doctors made it crystal clear more government health funding is needed.
They also pleaded for a slow and considered review of the entire Medicare system.
The Senate Committee was also warned Central Coast ambulance paramedics work in crisis mode most days.
The Australian Paramedics Association told the committee local officers are regularly delayed at hospital emergency departments for up to six hours at a time.
Local paramedic and APA Vice President, Jeff Andrew raised concern about ongoing staff shortages and public misuse of the system.
Mr Andrew told the committee hospital bedblock is a daily occurrence.
“We have had periods I can say within the last three weeks where we’ve spent up to six hours in the hospital with a patient, just literally minding them or ramping them and nowhere to go,” he said
“We would say that the hospital’s working hard and there has been some improvements over time but we don’t ever seem to get in front.”
The Senate Committee is moving onto Penrith and then Canberra this week, with its final report to be tabled in the Senate in mid 2016.