FED: Labor doesn't want to take over hospitals: AMA
By Julian DrapeWed Jul 22 18:44:41 EST 2009
Subject: [Fwd: FED: Labor doesn't want to take over hospitals: AMA] name="FED: Labor doesn't want to take over hospitals: AMA.eml" filename*0="FED: Labor doesn't want to take over hospitals: AMA.eml" Subject: FED: Labor doesn't want to take over hospitals: AMA FED: Labor doesn't want to take over hospitals: AMA
CANBERRA, July 22 AAP - The Rudd government doesn't want to take over the country's hospitals despite threatening to do just that before the last election, Australia's peak doctors' group says.
Before winning the 2007 poll, Kevin Rudd vowed to fix the health system by mid-2009 or move to take control of hospitals.
But since then he's faced opposition from the states and hinted he'd prefer to work cooperatively with them.
Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Andrew Pesce says federal Labor doesn't really want to be in charge of hospitals.
"If the truth be known I think the prime minister and the health minister are less enthusiastic about a takeover than the states," Dr Pesce told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.
The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission's final report on the health system reportedly recommends a federal takeover of outpatient services and community health centres, but not hospitals themselves.
The coalition says the prime minister's threat was always a hollow one and little more than an election stunt. Dr Pesce wouldn't go that far.
"I don't think things are done as stunts," he said.
"It just shows that it's a lot easier to make a promise than to actually work on the response to that promise."
The AMA president said the fact the commonwealth and the states shared control of hospitals made health "a very difficult political issue".
Last month, Dr Pesce said Mr Rudd should "take responsibility for fixing the problem permanently".
But he was less forthcoming on Wednesday.
"I'm not here to teach the prime minister how to solve political issues," he said.
"We need to see a proposal for me to say `is that going to help'.
"The AMA will not comment on a policy before it's released."
Dr Pesce said the AMA's bottom line was the improvement of patient care at the bedside - "not which level of government does what".
The NHHRC's interim report, released publicly in February, recommended the federal government assume total responsibility for health care provided outside the hospital system, commonly referred to as primary care.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the final report will be released before parliament resumes in mid-August.
AAP jcd/kms/wf=0A
FED: Labor doesn't want to take over hospitals: AMA