RDAA distributes RuralDoc.com regularly to RDA members to keep you updated on the activities, efforts and achievements that RDAA is making on your behalf. Visit www.rdaa.com.au for more information.

Rural health vacancies and events — now on RDAA’s website! Go to www.rdaa.com.au and follow links from the front page. Advertising rural health vacancies is free to RDA members: email media@rdaa.com.au.

Rural doctors urged to participate in ABC Radio rural health program tonight

Rural doctors are encouraged to call in to a special Australia Talks Back program at 6pm AEDT tonight (Wednesday night) on ABC Radio National regarding the future of rural health. Discussion will include what works and what doesn't work for health services in rural and regional Australia, and whether rural health is rating high enough on the election barometer. RDAA President, Dr Peter Rischbieth, will feature on the program alongside Professor John Humphries from Monash University and a midwife representative from the What Women Want party.

The program’s producers are encouraging rural doctors to call the program to put forward their views. See more details on the program at www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/stories/2007/2082180.htm. Doctors who would like to join the discussion during the broadcast should call 1300 22 55 76 (1300 CALL RN) for the cost of a local call from anywhere in Australia. (Calls from mobile phones are charged as per your normal rate plan). Find your local ABC Radio National frequency here: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/freq/.

Less than three weeks left to lobby local candidates! In the remaining few weeks of the federal election campaign, we strongly encourage you to contact your local candidates to raise your concerns about inadequate access to rural health services in your own community. We ask you to:

·       call or meet your local candidates to highlight health issues in your community. A list of candidates and their contact numbers can be found at www.rdaa.com.au (under Quick Info).

·       call your local newspaper, radio or TV station and talk to them about local health issues and the contact you are having with local candidates. Consider writing a letter to the editor or ringing up morning talkback radio.

·       urge your patients to also meet with or call their local candidates to discuss rural health issues.

If you need help organising meetings with your local candidates or further information, we would be pleased to assist! Email us at feedback@rdaa.com.au or call us on (02) 6273 9303. RDAA’s Election ’07 Updates will be issued regularly and posted at www.rdaa.com.au (under Quick Info). Thank you for your valuable assistance!

Rural health is marginal, in more ways than one: RDAA is warning the Coalition and Labor that at least 16 rural seats are marginal in this federal election campaign and could decide which party wins government and which doesn’t. The Association is also reminding the major parties that improving access to local rural healthcare is a clear way to win rural votes. The 16 marginal rural seats are: Eden-Monaro (NSW), Macquarie (NSW), Page (NSW), Paterson (NSW), Richmond (NSW), Ballarat (Victoria), Bendigo (Victoria), Corangamite (Victoria), McEwen (Victoria), McMillan (Victoria), Blair (Queensland), Flynn (Queensland), Wakefield (SA), Bass (Tasmania), Braddon (Tasmania) and Lyons (Tasmania). Doctors in these seats are encouraged to contact RDAA with local examples of shortages of doctors and other health professionals, unacceptable waiting times for consultations, hospital closures and downgrades, and equipment shortages in local hospitals and health services, for use during the final weeks of the election campaign — email: feedback@rdaa.com.au.

RDAA President, Dr Peter Rischbieth, said: “The major parties have rocks in their head if they think the next federal election can’t be won through these 16 marginal rural seats. You need only look back to the 1999 Victorian state election at which the Bracks Labor Government first won office to see it was the marginal rural seats that enabled Labor to form government.

“It is critical the major parties commit to turning the situation around urgently right across Australia—and not just in the marginal seats—or there will be no rural health system to fix come the next election. Rural health is marginal, and both the Coalition and Labor would do well to remember it, as every seat will count at this election.” See a full RDAA media release at www.rdaa.com.au (go to Newsroom).

1.9 million rural Australians missing out on local healthcare: the chronic shortage of 1000 doctors across rural Australia is resulting in 1.9 million rural Australians being denied adequate access to local healthcare, RDAA has calculated. The Association is calling on the major political parties to commit to a range of initiatives to get more than 13,000 additional health professionals — including more than 1000 additional doctors, 5400 additional nurses, 600 additional midwives and 6100 additional allied health professionals — to the bush.

RDAA has also reiterated its call for the major parties to commit to introduce rural-specific support incentives to attract more young Australian medical graduates to rural practice and keep existing rural doctors in the bush; significantly increase and quarantine federal funding to support and expand rural hospitals; and introduce a Rural Health Obligation to enshrine a minimum level of access to local health professionals, hospitals and health services for all rural Australians. See a full RDAA media release at www.rdaa.com.au (go to Newsroom).

Not one sentence devoted to rural health at the National Press Club health debate: RDAA is staggered that despite the appalling statistics surrounding access to rural healthcare in Australia, neither Tony Abbott MP nor Nicola Roxon MP devoted even one sentence to the rural health crisis in their remarks at the National Press Club last Wednesday. RDAA President, Dr Peter Rischbieth, said: “Quite frankly, the fact that rural health was missing in action at the National Press Club health debate is bewildering. I mean, for Pete’s sake, the debate was held during National Rural Health Action Week, but from our count the words ‘rural health’ rated just one mention during the whole debate, and that was only when Nicola Roxon mentioned it in passing. Not even one sentence was devoted to rural health by either politician. We would love to have been able to say more about the debate, but there is little to say…mainly because little was said. If the politicians aren’t going to speak up about rural health, perhaps rural voters need to speak at the ballot box on November 24.” See a full RDAA media release at www.rdaa.com.au (go to Newsroom).

GP training places welcome, but getting graduates to the bush is the real challenge: RDAA has welcomed the Coalition’s announcement of funding for additional GP training places, but has warned this will bring little benefit to many Australians unless incentives are created to attract young medical graduates to rural areas. RDAA has also warned that the difficulties associated with attracting doctors away from urban centres have been exacerbated by the Coalition’s proposal to extend the payment of practice nurse incentive payments to all — rather than solely rural — practices.

RDAA President, Dr Peter Rischbieth, said: “It is encouraging to see the Coalition committing to new GP training places and the expansion of the Pre-vocational General Practice Placement Program. However, RDAA fears this funding will do little to alter the disturbingly low number of young doctors presently choosing to move into general practice — let alone general practice in regional or rural areas. We have for some time in Australia struggled to fill the existing number of GP training places and, again this year, interest in GP training throughout both urban and rural Australia is underwhelming.

“So while the Coalition’s decision to increase the number of GP training places is welcome, the real challenge is to put in place a range of new initiatives to firstly entice more medical graduates into general practice and, most importantly, to entice more of these graduates into rural areas. The Coalition’s extension of practice nurse incentive payments to urban practices also removes one of the few existing incentives for urban GPs considering a move to rural Australia.” See a full RDAA media release at www.rdaa.com.au (go to Newsroom).

Find more RDAA election ’07 media releases online: RDAA has been issuing a wide range of media releases during the election campaign and we don’t have the room to summarise them all here! Find all our media releases at www.rdaa.com.au (go to Newsroom).

RDAA welcomes feedback from rural doctors on any topic. Email president@rdaa.com.au with your views.

A special welcome to all new RDA members. Existing members are encouraged to talk with fellow docs about your RDA and invite them to join. Please forward membership recruitment suggestions to office@rdaa.com.au.

To unsubscribe or to update your email address call (02) 6273 9303 or email: office@rdaa.com.au.

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