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WA Premier shifts blame for hospital woes onto GPs once again
Mark McGowan has drawn the ire of RACGP leadership for ‘unacceptable’ comments that accuse GPs of contributing to the state’s health crisis.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has again blamed GPs for his state’s overcrowded emergency departments. (Image: AAP)
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has come under fire from GPs after taking aim at general practice while defending the state’s health system.
Facing pressure from a public inquest into the death of seven-year-old Aishwarya Aswath, who died of sepsis at Perth Children’s Hospital in April last year, Premier McGowan directed blame for the state’s stretched hospital system towards primary care.
‘I think what is a large part of the problem, is the relationship between the Commonwealth health system and the state health system,’ he said.
‘In that, if you want to go to a GP these days, very few bulk bill and a lot won’t see respiratory cases, therefore people are going into the emergency departments.
‘And that is putting pressure on our hospital system, when they actually should be dealt with by a general practitioner.’
It follows a similar pattern to remarks made in May this year when the Premier accused GPs of not dealing with patients presenting with respiratory illnesses.
‘Isn’t the Hippocratic Oath that you’re supposed to allow anyone to come in and receive medical attention?’ he said in a widely reported interview that was strongly criticised by the RACGP at the time.
RACGP President Adjunct Professor Karen Price described hearing the latest remarks as ‘like Groundhog Day’.
‘At a time when GPs and general practice teams are doing their absolute best in very trying circumstances, the last thing they need are comments laying blame at their feet,’ she said.
‘Let me be clear, this is a political misdirect to avoid accountability for pressure within the state’s hospital system.
‘I have said it before, and I will say it again – it’s unacceptable to blame an overburdened state hospital system on general practice. Premier McGowan clearly hasn’t learnt anything following his comments earlier this year.’
RACGP WA Chair Dr Ramya Raman also said the Premier showed a lack of understanding of the pressures facing general practice.
She said GPs do everything they can to help patients in a pandemic, with practices requiring strong measures in place to minimise the spread of COVID-19 among patients and staff.
‘Some practices in my home state will be able to see patients with respiratory symptoms; however, others sometimes will not depending on their circumstances, including the space of the clinic,’ Dr Raman said.
‘We have the responsibility of triaging symptomatic patients and implementing rigorous infection control precautions, and keep in mind that all of this takes time and resources.
‘So, if a practice doesn’t have the space to manage people with respiratory symptoms they will not simply turn them away, they will have processes in place to refer patients appropriately, be that to a nearby practice or a local GP-led respiratory clinic.’
Dr Raman said when GPs and other general practice staff need to take time off due to COVID-19, it can have ‘a huge impact’ on communities.
‘Once again, I say to Premier McGowan to please get behind GPs and general practice teams,’ she said.
‘We have been on the frontline of this pandemic for two-and-a-half-years, and we don’t deserve any more veiled criticism.’
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