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AMA Tasmania

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20.01.2022 Did You Know Australia’s First Female Doctor Was Hobartian? The first woman to be registered with the Medical Board of Victoria and therefore practice medicine as the first fully licensed and fees paid up female doctor in Australia was born right here in Hobart Town.

19.01.2022 The Presidents of peak medical associations have united to write to Health Minister Greg Hunt, calling for an urgent review of Medicare changes to cardiac diagnostic services that are leaving patients out of pocket and at risk of missing out on care. The associations, representing GPs and other specialists, nuclear medicine specialists, pathologists, diagnostic imaging specialists, radiologists, and rural doctors, have told Minister Hunt that their advice was ignored when the... changes were first proposed as part of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review. Patients who have previously received cardiac diagnostic services by a general practitioner, nuclear medicine specialist, or pathologist are either no longer funded to receive those services, will face higher out-of-pocket costs, or will only access those services in limited circumstances, AMA President, Dr Omar Khorshid, said today.

19.01.2022 Doctors are here to help others but need to remember their own mental health. We're asking doctors, medical students, and healthcare workers to aks their colleagues RUOK? Support is available if you need it http://drs4drs.com.au #RUOKDay

18.01.2022 The Tasmanian health system was buckling before COVID-19 and a new report finds funding is inadequate. According to the Australian Medical Association’s public hospital report card, elective surgery waiting lists are some of the longest in 20 years. The wait times are the worst in the country. AMA Tasmanian president Helen McArdle (pictured) said the impacts of the pandemic including the temporary pausing of most elective surgeries had exacerbated an already significant ...issue. COVID has made it worse, but we had problems before,’’ she said. Tasmanians on the waiting list for elective surgery are facing the second-worst wait times in 20 years amid declining per-capita growth in funding for the state’s public hospitals, a new report has revealed. The Australian Medical Association’s public hospital report card, released on Thursday, said funding for the facilities was inadequate, staff were under increasing pressure and emergency department wait times were blowing out. The AMA also said the performance of public hospitals was deteriorating even before the COVID-19 pandemic, painting a gloomy picture for future health outcomes. The report found the median waiting time for elective surgery in Tasmania was 57 days in 2018-19 and was only worse in 2015-16 when the median was 72 days, with both figures inferior when compared with other Australian states and territories. New figures last week revealed there were 11,342 patients waiting for elective surgery at the end of June and the most urgent of patients (category 1) who were overdue were waiting four times longer for procedures than clinically recommended. Meanwhile, the per person average combined annual growth in public hospital funding from state and federal governments has fallen from 2.98 per cent between 2007-08 and 2012-13, to 2.2 per cent from 2012-13 to 2017-18. AMA Tasmanian president Helen McArdle said the impacts of the pandemic including the temporary pausing of most elective surgeries had exacerbated an already significant issue. COVID has made it worse, but we had problems before,’’ she said. Dr McArdle said there was significant concern about funding for health, given the costs of COVID-19. I don’t think there will be any cuts possible in health,’’ she said. We anticipate that we need more investment in health, but when COVID has been so costly, that means governments are looking to make any savings they can. https://ama.com.au//waiting-lists-point-post-covid-hospita https://www.themercury.com.au//56b508cd66534270ad37fe56be4

16.01.2022 "Nowhere else to go: why Australia’s health system results in people with mental illness getting ‘stuck’ in emergency departments, commissioned by ACEM" examines the current mental healthcare crisis in Australia. MORE: http://ow.ly/Fy5y50ByG6z

15.01.2022 Listen as Dr John Saul, GP and AMA Tasmania Member, joins Aaron Stevens to discuss elective surgery waitlists in Tasmania, and the impact these delays are having on patients.

15.01.2022 Additional Commonwealth support to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19 A joint release with Dr Omar Khorshid, President, Australian Medical Association, about new measures to help reduce the number of healthcare workers being infected with COVID-19.

13.01.2022 Did you catch Dr Jerome Muir-Wilson, Australian Medical Association Tasmania spokesperson as he chatted with Piia Wersu on Drive this afternoon on COVID-19 testing rates, community vigilance and imminent border opening changes.

11.01.2022 Would you like to own a piece of AMA Tasmania history, well here is your chance. Due to some modernising of our offices the featured items are available for pur...chase. Due diligence has given us the indicative prices. Most of the furniture is extremely well made, largely by hand, and is located at AMA House Hobart - viewing times can be arranged. As we have minimal storage, items purchased will need arrangements made as quickly as possible for collection. If you are interested please call our office on 6223 2047.

09.01.2022 All Tasmanians suffering from hay fever symptoms are being urged to get tested for coronavirus. This comes after evidence revealed some people with COVID-19 initially thought they just had hay fever. Listen as AMA President Dr Helen McArdle spoke with Martin Agatyn to discuss the importance of getting tested for even minor symptoms.

08.01.2022 Dr Annette Barratt spoke with Martin Agatyn Tasmania Talks this morning on the recent announcement that the temporary Medicare rebates for COVID-19 telehealth consultations will be extended for a further six months. The AMA remains in discussions with the Federal Government about the long-term future of Medicare-funded telehealth. Telehealth is working very well and, now that we have this extension in place, we have time to finalise the future of telehealth in Australia. Th...ese telehealth items have supported the provision of care during these very difficult times, and have been embraced by patients and doctors alike. This announcement means that medical practices can now start planning appointments beyond the end of this month, knowing that these items remain in place. The decision to allow GPs to apply their usual fee schedule to telehealth services from 1 October is also welcome. GPs have a long history of looking after patients in difficult financial circumstances and this decision will not change that approach.

08.01.2022 The Launceston General Hospital has been suffering from access block problems within its Emergency Department for some time. The Registrars are crying out for help on behalf of their patients and their colleagues. Our members working in the ED have reported to us that morale is appallingly low. They are desperate for support from senior management to help address the issues they are facing each day with access block impacting their patient care. It is incumbent on all parti...es, clinicians, nurses and management at the LGH to work together to find practical solutions to move patients through the hospital more quickly and relieve pressure from the ED. The public deserve to have the confidence that they will get the care they need in an emergency in a timely manner and in an appropriate environment. That cannot be said to be the case for every patient at this time at the LGH. Access block issues are also a problem at both the Royal Hobart Hospital and North West General Hospitals EDs. This is where a whole state strategy needs to be developed by the government that also involves General Practice, where appropriate, to deliver care in the community and aged care facilities, who could take some elderly patients waiting for an aged care bed sooner, thus freeing up beds in our hospitals.

07.01.2022 Addressing bed block and under-staffing at Launceston General Hospital must be treated with the highest priority. The Australian Medical Association Tasmania branch will meet with LGH staff and management today to discuss workload concerns. Members are encouraged to touch base while the CEO and President are onsite today at 1:00 pm. Further details available from our office 6223 2047. It comes in response to a letter signed by almost two dozen of the hospital's senior regis...trars to the state government, warning patients were dying unnecessarily. AMA Tasmania president Helen McArdle described the letter as an act of desperation and said staff needed to be listened to. "As soon as you start getting low morale, then people don't want to come to work. People get burnt out, people may even leave," she said. "We know a few years ago the LGH had a problem with their emergency department when quite a number of the senior staff left, just because they said they couldn't cope anymore. I would hope we won't see a mass exodus ... people will usually hang in and keep trying to improve the situation, if they believe they are being listened to." Dr McArdle said staffing levels and recruitment remained key issues. "Access block has been a problem at the LGH for a while. It's probably been compounded by COVID. Only to the extent that it's difficult to get full staff in," she said. "But it's not always as easy as just money. You need to be able to recruit staff and retain them." The government says it has employed an 440 full-time equivalent staff at the LGH, along with further infrastructure investments.

05.01.2022 Three Australian leaders in digital health examine how COVID-19 and other drivers have shifted the trajectory for electronic health records, and what this means for consumers and health professionals.

04.01.2022 Know someone who is finding it hard to remember the signs of a stroke? The Shoalhaven Hospital stroke team have the remedy for that! It’s disco! #fightstroke

02.01.2022 A consultation is open on interim scheduling decisions, including low dose cannabidiol (CBD). Submissions close 13 October: https://www.tga.gov.au//notice-interim-decisions-proposed-

02.01.2022 October is National Safe Work Month and it is an important time to remind our members that working within a team or an organisation can have many pros and cons. It may feel like the collegiality should be protective of our mental health, but teams and hierarchies can also bring conflict and bureaucracy that can eat away at work satisfaction. Please don’t do this by yourself. www.drs4drs.com.au are there to help. #safeworkmonth #safetytogether #safebodiessafeminds www.worksafetasmonth.com.au//08/Online-2020-WSM-Program.pdf

02.01.2022 A moment of lovely .....The Royal Melbourne Scrub Choir and a Pretenders classic.

01.01.2022 Sandy Bay GP Dr Jennifer Misson spoke to media on Friday around calls for an urgent review of Medicare cardiac changes. Patients who have previously received cardiac diagnostic services by a general practitioner, nuclear medicine specialist, or pathologist are either no longer funded to receive those services, will face higher out-of-pocket costs, or will only access those services in limited circumstances. It makes no sense to make patients pay more, or have to be referred to a non-GP specialist, to have a basic heart test.

01.01.2022 Public Health has issued a statement that those who suffer from hay fever and other seasonal allergies should consider getting tested for Covid-19. Jimmy & Nath also caught up with local GP and AMA Spokesperson, Dr Jenny Misson to find out more.