VICDOC Winter 2022 - Magazine - Page 68
ADVOCACY FROM AMA FEDERAL
FED FACTS
—
As I write, Labor has
gained enough seats in
the parliament to form
a majority government.
We have a new Minister
for Health, the Hon
Mark Butler MP and a
new Prime Minister who
has accepted the need to
sit down with state and
territory governments
to resolve our public
hospital crisis and has
committed to reform
and better funding
of General Practice.
70
AMA VI C TO RIA
T
Email:
vicdoc@ amavic.com.au
—
here is much to do in health for the
new government and this means a
significant opportunity for the AMA
to help shape the approach to health
reform — to represent the interests of our
profession, but just as importantly,
to advocate for our patients.
During the election campaign, the AMA ran
two strong campaigns aimed at influencing
the policies of the major parties and elevating
health as an election issue. We also advocated
on a broader platform including the five pillars
of our Vision for Australia’s Health.
The Clear the hospital logjam campaign
ran for months prior to the election, pointing
out the crisis of access to public hospital care
right around Australia, evidenced by record
ambulance ramping figures and elective
surgical waiting lists. We focused on the
pandemic’s ongoing impact on healthcare
worker burnout and staffing levels and the
very real impact on the health of Australians
seeking hospital care. Most importantly,
we continued our push for an increase in
Commonwealth funding of public hospitals,
removal of the artificial 6.5% cap on hospital
spending growth and reform of the funding
formula as the longer-term solutions for the
underlying problems in public hospitals.
We received strong support from state
and territory governments and many other
commentators, meaning that the 50/50
funding of hospitals, along with the removal
of the cap, has become the starting point for
upcoming negotiations between states and
the Commonwealth. The foundation of this
campaign was our Public hospitals: Cycle of
crisis report, prepared by our Research and
Reform Unit, that includes an experienced
health economist.