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Paul Hayes

05 Mar 2019
News

RACGP President calls on GPs to take action ahead of Federal Election

Paul Hayes

5/03/2019 2:01:50 PM

Dr Harry Nespolon wants members to advocate and increase awareness of the issues affecting Australia’s GPs and their patients.

RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon believes GPs should raise issues regarding the sustainability and quality of general practice.
RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon believes GPs should raise issues regarding the sustainability and quality of general practice.

‘I am calling on each and every one of you to get involved,’ RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon said in a letter to members.
 
‘The Federal Election is fast approaching and this presents us with an opportunity to influence the priorities of our future government.
 
‘Policy change will only occur through sustained and united pressure from GPs and our patients. If we don’t lead, no one else will.
 
‘I am strongly encouraging you to join me and help raise awareness with your local MPs and electoral candidates, as well as your patients.’
 
Dr Nespolon believes GPs should raise issues such as modernising medicine, reducing out-of-pocket costs, mental health services, and the delivery of complex care.
 
‘Implementation of these key priorities will improve patient access and health outcomes, reduce out-of-pocket costs and increase support for us all,’ Dr Nespolon said.
 
‘Talk to your patients about how these issues affect them. Write to your local MP and electoral candidates, calling for them to prioritise patient care and general practice, and encourage your patients to do the same.’

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Dr George Al-horani   6/03/2019 6:51:15 AM

That’s okay once we know who will win the election!
I think it should be a Rule that Health Ministers should be a General Practitioner always or at least a Doctor .
They keep bringing unwise Rules and too much Red tape and at this stage we feel the government is working against us and we think seriously to give up on running businesses as General Practitioners.
All new rules are more tough from the one before , our costs of running a Buisness keeps getting higher and higher everyday to meet all the new regulations and on the other hand the income is the same !!!
We need to fight for our rights as GPs but the problem we don’t have a legal body to fight for our rights , simply we accept all the new rules and we just keep working , to be sure we provide the best services to our patients .
Too much red tape is suffocating us , we need help , we need a strong voice and I really think these MPs will care less about our needs .

Dr F. Khan   6/03/2019 5:44:07 PM

Providing quality primary care is becoming increasingly difficult since the expectations of the community keep rising, however the will to pay for that is rapidly diminishing. Out of pocket costs can only be minimised when policies are brought in place that protect and respect the GPs work rather than shove them off the cliff with the bureaucratic red tape around their necks as nooses.
Quality care takes time and consistency amongst many things, however that becomes even more difficult where there is fragmentation of care due to multiple GP practices visited by the patients. The risk of legal ramifications also goes up in that environment. We need to have people in the Government who recognise the importance of our role in the community and are collaborating with us to strengthen it for the betterment of communities' physical and mental health as well as our own.

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