Tag Archives: Assistant Health Minister Senator Fiona Nash

NACCHO #HealthElection16 : Coalition Government’s Aboriginal Health Election Policy released

PM 2

“The Closing the Gap challenge is often described as a problem to be solved – but more than anything it is an opportunity. If our greatest assets are our people, if our richest capital is our human capital, then the opportunity to empower the imagination, the enterprise, the wisdom and the full potential of our First Australians is an exciting one.

And when we focus on the gap to be closed and ending the disadvantage that entails, we should not overlook or fail to celebrate the many successes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

“It is equally important we listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when they tell us what is working and what needs to change.  It’s our role as government to provide an environment that enables Indigenous leaders to develop local solutions., it is time for Governments to ‘do things with aboriginal people, not do things to them’.

The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Closing the Gap 2016 speech

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“Going forward, the Australian Government will continue to work in partnership with the Aboriginal community controlled health sector, including the National Health Leadership Forum, in delivering, reviewing and reporting on the Implementation Plan.

Overall this Government is investing $3.3 billion through the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme, to support the continued delivery of services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly through Aboriginal Community Controlled Health services. This is an increase of over $500 million when compared with the previous four years.

We are providing $1.4 billion over three years to enable the continued delivery of primary health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

I must finish by congratulating Matthew Cooke and his team for their leadership and tireless hard work to drive the positive vision and outcomes of NACCHO during my time”

Senator Fiona Nash pictured above with NACCHO Chair Matthew Cooke at a recent Parliamentary event in Canberra

Page 6/24  Aboriginal Health Newspaper DOWNLOAD FREE PDF HERE

In case you missed this is the list of all major parties

#HealthElection16 Aboriginal Health policy announcements this week

The Greens

Labor

NACCHO Chair

AMA

NACCHO Members

NACCHO Affiliates

The Coalition Government is committed to closing the gap and achieving health equality between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians.

We recognise that good health is both a key enabler and outcome that supports children to go to school, adults to lead productive working lives, and builds strong and resilient communities.

The Coalition Government has a proud record on Indigenous health. We are on track to meet the target of halving the child mortality rate by 2018. The gap has narrowed by 34%.

We have also seen a 19% decrease in chronic disease mortality; and there has been some progress on closing the gap in life expectancy.

Better health leads to improved school attendance and workforce participation.

The outlook for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes is improving. However, I will not shirk the clear fact that there is much more to do.

The passion and commitment which drove me to enter politics over 10 years ago has driven me as Minister responsible for Indigenous Health and will continue as we roll out The Implementation Plan.

We are providing $1.4 billion over three years to enable the continued delivery of primary health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

We have recently announced further funding to the Tackling Indigenous Smoking Programme, and furthered our commitment to eradicate trachoma – Australia being the only developed nation in the world to still have this eye condition.

We are investing an additional $94 million over three years, commencing in 2015-16, to expand maternal and child health services to ensure Indigenous children have the best possible start in life and are able to succeed at school.

In the interests of continuity, the Coalition decided to adopt and build on the 10 year National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan (2013-2023), delivered when Labor was in power. That document was a high level, strategic document – the Implementation Plan now details actions and achievable goals.

The release of this Implementation Plan is an important milestone in Indigenous health and is the result of deep cooperation between the Government and indigenous stakeholders.

The Implementation Plan is a ten-year road map: a strategy to improve the health of Indigenous children, Indigenous youth and Indigenous adults. It is further evidence of the Coalition Government’s commitment to Closing the Gap.

It introduces strategies and actions to improve access of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to health care services.

The Implementation Plan also includes actions to improve the cultural safety of health services.

I worked extremely hard with Labor and the Greens to make sure the Implementation Plan had tri-party support, so that it will withstand the political cycle. The Plan won’t be ripped apart the next time the Government changes because it had the support of all parties

The Plan commits the sector and the Government to increasing the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 0-4 who have had at least one health check a year from 23 to 69 per cent by 2023.

It also aims to increase the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth who have never smoked from 77 to 91 per cent by 2023; and the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are fully immunised by age 1 from 85 per cent to 88 per cent by 2023.

Going forward, the Australian Government will continue to work in partnership with the Aboriginal community controlled health sector, including the National Health Leadership Forum, in delivering, reviewing and reporting on the Implementation Plan.

PM

Update 30 June ABC

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has made a fresh pitch to Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory as he seeks to firm up votes ahead of Saturday’s poll.

Speaking on 105.7 ABC Darwin, based in the Coalition’s marginal seat of Solomon, Mr Turnbull was asked whether he would retain a focus on Indigenous affairs and retain the portfolio within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The seat is currently held by a margin of only 1.5 per cent by incumbent Country Liberals party (CLP) politician Natasha Griggs.

Mr Turnbull said he had demonstrated his commitment to Aboriginal people by recently attending the Kenbi land title handover in the NT.

“It is my government that has set up the Indigenous procurement program which has now seen — we are moving towards — 3 per cent of all Commonwealth contracts, by number, going to Indigenous businesses,” Mr Turnbull said.

“That is the target and over $150 million in less than a year has gone to Indigenous businesses, many of them of course being businesses set up by Territorians from Indigenous people from the Territory,” he said.

Mr Turnbull also said he thought people in the NT would be wise enough not to confuse federal issues with the woes being experienced by the NT’s CLP government.

“The people of Darwin and the people of the Northern Territory more generally are politically wise enough to know the difference between Territory politics and federal politics,” he said.

REDFERN STATEMENT READ HERE

Redfern Statement

NACCHO Aboriginal Health News Alert :Renewed agreement to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people

NASH

“This is an ongoing challenge, and by working in partnership with Aboriginal people and organisations, we have already had some successes notably, improvements in the life expectancy gap, and in reducing child mortality,”

All partners agree that improving outcomes in the early years is critical to achieving long term gains for Aboriginal people.

However a significant gap in life expectancy still exists. Coordination and collaboration between the health sectors and effective community engagement are vital to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and this framework agreement will help to underpin this approach,”

Federal Assistant Minister for Health, Fiona Nash

RENEWED AGREEMENT TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELLBEING

The Australian Government, Northern Territory Government and Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of NT (AMSANT) have re-committed to a framework agreement aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Meeting in Darwin today, (pictured above) the Federal Assistant Minister for Health, Fiona Nash, said the agreement is the start of a national approach that is expected to see every state and territory signing similar agreements by the end of this year.

“The renewed five-year agreement, from 2015 to 2020, promotes shared responsibility and the need for genuine ongoing partnerships between Aboriginal community controlled health services and both levels of government,” Minister Nash said.

“This renewal is both a symbol of the three partners’ willingness to work together, and a mechanism to make things happen in practice.

“The agreement commits us all to share information, and identify key priorities for action.”

Northern Territory Minister for Health John Elferink said the partners working together to focus on improving the health system and the collection of health data to inform planning and program implementation had demonstrated success in the Northern Territory.

“Through this framework agreement, we will continue to work together and with other key stakeholders to build on the solid foundations that will improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” he said.

Marion Scrymgour, Chairperson of AMSANT, said: “AMSANT welcomes the ongoing commitment and constructive partnership between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory Government to work with the Aboriginal community controlled  sector to address the health and wellbeing issues of Aboriginal Territorians.”

Minister Nash said the Australian Government was committed to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and closing the gap in health disparity.

“This is an ongoing challenge, and by working in partnership with Aboriginal people and organisations, we have already had some successes notably, improvements in the life expectancy gap, and in reducing child mortality,” she said.

“All partners agree that improving outcomes in the early years is critical to achieving long term gains for Aboriginal people.”

“For example, the Australian Government, the NT Department of Health together with AMSANT have undertaken considerable work to understand the causes, treatments and prevention strategies of childhood anaemia and growth faltering,” Minister Nash said.

“As a result the NT is the only jurisdiction with Aboriginal Health Key Performance Indicators on childhood anaemia and growth faltering that allow for progress to be tracked across the territory.

“However a significant gap in life expectancy still exists. Coordination and collaboration between the health sectors and effective community engagement are vital to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and this framework agreement will help to underpin this approach,” Minister Nash said.

 

 

NACCHO Close the Gap Day : Will Government funding of $800 M be enough to Close the Aboriginal health Gap ?

Peter

Updated at 7.00 Pm 18 March 2014 the above heading should read

Will Government funding of $1.3 billion  be enough to Close the Aboriginal health Gap ?

See Official Press Release below after the SBS interview

“The government is responding to the call to Close the Gap with around $800 million in grant funding to organisations for Indigenous specific primary health and allied health care, the majority of which are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs).

ACCHOs deliver culturally appropriate and sustainable primary health care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Many communities have different cultures and histories so different needs may need to be addressed by locally developed, specific strategies,” .

Says Assistant Minister for Health Senator Fiona Nash  talking with SBS this week (refer official press release below for funding details)

This is Justin Mohamed statement about the need to Close the Gap

Unless the critical social issues of housing, education and self-determination that contributed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health inequality were adequately addressed, along with health funding, then it could take many generations to Close the Gap.

“In many rural, remote and urban areas we have many generations of a family living under one roof with high unemployment ,low income, no food in the fridge and the kids unable to attend school or do their homework because of the overcrowded living conditions.

The Aboriginal community controlled health services operate on multiple levels, and contribute significantly not just to cutting edge primary health care services, but to addressing some of the key social determinants as well, such as meaningful, employment, training, and leadership development.

The importance of our NACCHO member Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHS) to Close the Gap is not fully recognised by governments.

The economic benefits of ACCHS has not been recognised at all.

We provide employment, income and a range of broader community benefits that mainstream health services and mainstream labour markets do not. ACCHS need more financial support from government, to provide not only quality health and wellbeing services to communities, but jobs, income and broader community economic benefits

Justin Mohamed NACCHO chair will be speaking at the National Press Club 2 April

“Investing in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health makes economic sense “

PRESS CLUB BOOKINGS

For a country rich in resources and opportunity, the Indigenous people of Australia do not share the same fortune when it comes to health.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders can expect to live 10-17 years less than non-Indigenous Australians. The babies of Aboriginal mothers are twice as likely to die as other Australian babies, and in general Indigenous Australians experience higher rates of preventable illness such as heart disease and diabetes.

These are startling statistics from a country that enjoys the privilege of having one of the highest life expectancies in the world. For a country rich in resources and opportunity, the Indigenous people of Australia do not share the same fortune when it comes to health.

The reasons for the gap in Indigenous health are complex. Decades of discrimination, inaccessible health services, a misrepresentation of Indigenous Australians working in the health industry and failure to address root causes such as substandard education, housing and infrastructure all contribute.

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Oxfam’s National Close the Gap day is March 20, a day designed to create awareness, spark conversation and remind politicians on the inequality of health care that exists in our own country.

Close the GAP WEBSITE for events

Last year 145,000 people registered to support the campaign by holding a small event, like a morning tea, to discuss Indigenous health with family, friends and colleagues.

Oxfam Australia’s Indigenous Rights Policy Advisor Andrew Meehan says support of the campaign has helped put Indigenous health back on the agenda with government officials. “Registered events this year have now hit a record of 1060, showing an undeniable groundswell of support from everyday Australians expecting governments to keep their promise to invest in Indigenous health. It’s clear Australians care about this issue and expect our leaders to act,” Meehan said.

In 2008 The Council of Australian Government set a series of goals to decrease the general gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Earlier this year the progress of these goals were reviewed. In the areas of health, the goal of closing the life expectancy gap by 2031 has seen little improvement. Only the Northern Territory looks set to achieve this goal. More optimistic though is the goal of halving the gap in Indigenous mortality rates in children under five. If the current rate of improvement continues this goal is set to be achieved by 2018.

A number of aid organisations and humanitarian groups are working tirelessly to do their bit to close the gap, One Disease at a Time is a not for profit organisation with the vision to systematically target and eliminate one disease at a time. Currently in its sights is scabies, a highly contagious skin disease which affects seven out of ten children Indigenous children before their first birthday. Left untreated, scabies can lead to chronic disease and even death.

It can be disfiguring, children are forced to miss school and employment and personal relationships can be impacted. “Recognising the importance in giving kids the best start in life, one of our core program goals is to reduce scabies rates in children under five years old. Among children living in households with crusted scabies, we have seen an 88 per cent reduction in their time spent in hospital for scabies,” says founder of One Disease at a Time Dr Sam Prince.

One Disease at a Time work closely within communities to achieve their goals, something Meehan says is a critical element in closing the gap. “We’re pushing the government to invest in community controlled health. These are the people better placed to identify the services that are actually required. Focusing on this area is also an investment in jobs, giving these people an opportunity into a health career path,” he says.

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The PM Tony Abbott recently released at the Closing the Gap Report in Canberra with Tom Calma and Justin Mohamed above

DOWNLOAD PM 2014  REPORT

DOWNLOAD THE CLOSE THE GAP CAMPAIGN REPORT

Assistant Minister for Health Senator Fiona Nash says the government is responding to the call with around $800 million in grant funding to organisations for Indigenous specific primary health and allied health care, the majority of which are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs). “ACCHOs deliver culturally appropriate and sustainable primary health care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.  Many communities have different cultures and histories so different needs may need to be addressed by locally developed, specific strategies,” she says.

Further to this, a $1.3 billion dollar investment in 2013-14 has been pledged for health projects including child and maternal health and the management of chronic diseases with specific focus on reducing the factors that create risk for disease including smoking and diet.

Dr Prince believes the secret to success in closing the gap is sharing stories of hope. “These will serve to ignite change in Indigenous communities, amongst the next generation of medical practitioners, and Australians as a whole.”

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE From Senator Nash’s Office

What current government initiatives are in place to tackle the gap in Indigenous health care?

As most parents will know, healthy children are happier and more responsive, both at home and at school.
We are committed to getting kids into school, adults into work and ensuring the ordinary rule of law applies in communities.
This is important and cannot be achieved without a continued focus on good health.
In order to contribute to closing the gap in health outcomes the Government is providing around $1.3b in 2013-14 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthactivities including:
·   child and maternal health services to give children a great start to their life, education and employment opportunities;
·   effective approaches to preventing and managing chronic disease especially in relation to reducing the factors that create risk for disease including smoking, healthy food and lifestyle;
·    ensuring a well-functioning and culturally appropriate health system and specific strategies and approaches to combat areas of concern such as trachoma, STIs, eye health and ear health.
The Government will provide around $800m in grant funding to organisations for Indigenous specific primary health and allied health care, the majority of which are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs).
ACCHOs deliver culturally appropriate and sustainable primary health care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.  Many communities have different cultures and histories so different needs may need to be addressed by locally developed, specific strategies.
The Government is working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations, and with state and territory governments, to implement programmes to reduce the disparities in life expectancy and health outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians.
We are seeking change – improved access and outcomes across the breadth and depth of the health sector.

ON CLOSE THE GAP DAY March 20 show your support

by changing your Facebook or Twitter profile to CLOSE THE GAP

CTG

You can hear more about Aboriginal health and Close the Gap at the NACCHO SUMMIT

summit-2014-banner

The importance of our NACCHO member Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHS) is not fully recognised by governments.

The economic benefits of ACCHS has not been recognised at all.

We provide employment, income and a range of broader community benefits that mainstream health services and mainstream labour markets do not. ACCHS need more financial support from government, to provide not only quality health and wellbeing services to communities, but jobs, income and broader community economic benefits.

A good way of demonstrating how economically valuable ACCHS are is to showcase our success at a national summit.

SUMMIT WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO

NACCHO political alert: Health Minister Dutton transforming communities – and the role of technology in the future of general practice

Peter

“I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the GPRA as one of the many organisations dedicated to improving indigenous health outcomes and capacity of the indigenous workforce.

The Indigenous General Practice Registrars Network, which is now co-ordinated by GPRA, provides a forum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander registrars to provide professional and cultural support for one another.

The GPRA is also very committed to the Australian Government’s Closing the Gap campaign and to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander registrars on their way to becoming GPs.

Doctors need to be equipped to deal with the special health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, especially in remote settings and the Remote Vocational Training Scheme – though small – is helping to deliver this much needed support.”

Minister Peter Dutton speaking at the Future of General Practice 2014 (#fgp14) conference, Parliament House Canberra

PICTURE ABOVE; Earlier this week the Health Minister Peter Dutton along with Indigenous Health Minister  Senator Fiona Nash met with the NACCHO board including Chair Justin Mohamed and Matthew Cooke. Picture Colin Cowell

FULL SPEECH

For the past four years I have spoken at the GPRA’s annual conference while in Opposition, so I’m pleased to have the opportunity to address this event as the Minister for Health.

Firstly thank you to the GPRA for continuing to look for innovative ways to further improve the quality of Australia’s health care through higher standards of education and training.

These conferences play an important role in the future of the health care sector, providing an opportunity for leaders in the field to share ideas and investigate ways we can support the next generation of GPs to provide the standards of care that Australians need and deserve.

Thank you also for your important work representing the nation’s future GPs – and I note the importance of the theme you have chosen for this conference –transforming communities – and your focus on the role of technology in the future of general practice.

New technology and social media have been transformative forces in modern Australia, touching virtually every aspect of our daily lives. I suspect your experience with Twitter is a little different to mine.

The many new young registrars we have coming through today, many of whom will be tomorrow’s GP in communities throughout Australia, are high users of online tech both personally and professionally.

You are part of a new generation of physicians for whom new online technology and social media tools will greatly influence their professional life. This opens up new opportunities – both for GPs as well as the communities and patients they support.

A large part of the challenge we face today is the need to think about how we can better utilise those tools to better support you – to help you do your job more efficiently and effectively, and to achieve better outcomes for patients.

From a Government’s perspective the remuneration around these challenging models is a great challenge.

But there are some other important issues that I’d like to talk about that go to the issue of transformation.

I’ll begin by reiterating some of the key points about Australia’s health system. It is important to any conversation about future workforce planning.

Comparatively speaking, Australia has a health system that delivers, but without strengthening our health system, it

will fall short of servicing the nation’s health needs over the coming years and decades.

Total expenditure on health care in Australia increased to $140 billion in 2011-12. That’s around $6200 per person per year. Only a decade earlier, the yearly figure was only $3300.

The pressure points are many—our ageing population, costs of new medical technologies, genomics, dementia, obesity, mental health and personalised medicines, to name a few.

At the moment, the Government is awaiting the findings and recommendations of the Commission of Audit and we will respond accordingly.

However, it won’t be a shock to anyone that the upcoming Budget will be tough – it has to be.

In short, we need to transform our health system. We need to take what is currently a 1980s model and transform it into an effective, efficient and stable system of health that delivers all Australians the quality care they need right now, as well as into the future.

Ten per cent of Australians utilise 46 per cent of MBS services. Clearly the system is not working for them.

To reduce the impact on services, we have a plan to improve efficiency, reduce duplication and red tape, redirect funding to patient services and continue to build a highly skilled health workforce.

In regards to the health workforce, there are both short and long term challenges to consider.

In the short term, we need to consider what the taxpayers’ investment is buying and where expenditure provides the greatest value for money.

In the long term, we need a stronger, more strategic focus in regards to workforce planning to ensure we have a sustainable and increasingly efficient health workforce.

I can say unequivocally that general practice will be at the front and centre of our plan. The Australian Government is committed to rebuilding general practice and putting GPs back at the centre of our health care system.

Now more than ever, the role of the GP is evolving.

I don’t need to tell anyone here today that patient health is becoming increasingly complex, with emerging challenges such as the growing burden of chronic disease, technology and the ageing population to name but a few.

One-third of Australia’s burden of disease is due to ‘lifestyle’ health risks such as poor diet, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol misuse.

The number of overweight and obese adults continues to rise, with nearly two out of every three adults classified as overweight or obese.

Similarly, diabetes rates in adults have risen over the past decade.

Add to this the increasing consumer expectations regarding their health care, workforce pressures, inequity of services in some areas, and a challenging economic environment, and the need for a skilled and adaptable GP workforce has never been greater.

While there is concern around the increase in medical graduates, we are working with the private sector and the state and territory governments to ensure that training capacity for doctors—including GPs—is better managed through the development of national medical training plans.

As I’ve said many times before, I believe significant productivity gains can—and must—come through a combination of improved public sector efficiency and bold new ideas from the private sector.

We should be leveraging the private sector, not just for services, but also to meet workforce training challenges.

This Commonwealth Medical Internship initiative is one example of how this can work, and it will foster a strong network of private hospitals which can train interns, boosting the nation’s medical training capacity.

In some regions, such as Bundaberg, public and private partnerships have developed as a result of the initiative, giving interns invaluable experience in a variety of healthcare settings.

We will also keep working with states and territories to help them streamline their internship training systems, and I hope to update you on this work in the near future.

Priority for new training positions will be in rural and regional areas to help bolster the medical workforce in communities who need them most. And each Commonwealth funded intern has a rural return of service obligation.

This year alone, there will be 76 more doctors working in Australia than would otherwise have been the case.

I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the GPRA as one of the many organisations dedicated to improving indigenous health outcomes and capacity of the indigenous workforce.

The Indigenous General Practice Registrars Network, which is now co-ordinated by GPRA, provides a forum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander registrars to provide professional and cultural support for one another.

The GPRA is also very committed to the Australian Government’s Closing the Gap campaign and to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander registrars on their way to becoming GPs.

Doctors need to be equipped to deal with the special health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, especially in remote settings and the Remote Vocational Training Scheme – though small – is helping to deliver this much needed support.

I announced during the election campaign that in Government we would invest $119 million to double the Practice Incentive Program (PIP) teaching Payments for GPs who provide teaching opportunities. We are implementing that promise.

Rural and remote general practitioners will receive an additional benefit due to the rural loading that applied under the PIP in recognition of the additional challenges that these practitioners can face.

We are also committing $52.5 million in infrastructure grants to help rural and regional general practices build their training infrastructure, so that they can train more students, more junior doctors and more registrars.

These grants will be provided based on an equal commitment from the practice.

This will leverage private investment and help ensure the most efficient and productive use of the taxpayers’ dollars.

Before I finish, I’d like to take a moment to address the GP Registrars in the room this morning.

There’s no doubt that you are embarking on your careers at a challenging—but very exciting—time for Australia’s health system.

Throughout your careers you’ll have many opportunities to help many people in many communities – and that gives me great confidence.

I wish you the very best for the future and I hope that many of you – if not all of you – become agents of change and transformation

in the communities within which you will work

You can hear more about Aboriginal health at the NACCHO SUMMIT

summit-2014-banner

The importance of our NACCHO member Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHS) is not fully recognised by governments.

The economic benefits of ACCHS has not been recognised at all.

We provide employment, income and a range of broader community benefits that mainstream health services and mainstream labour markets do not. ACCHS need more financial support from government, to provide not only quality health and wellbeing services to communities, but jobs, income and broader community economic benefits.

A good way of demonstrating how economically valuable ACCHS are is to showcase our success at a national summit.

SUMMIT WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO

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NACCHO health political alert : Minister Dutton tells NACCHO board he awaits audit to decide the future of the health system.

Peter

Health Minister Peter Dutton and Indigenous Health Minister Senator Fiona Nash  (pictured above meeting with the NACCHO Board at Parliament House  Canberra yesterday) told the NACCHO board they are awaiting the findings of the budget Commission of Audit, along with reviews of Medicare Locals and electronic health records, to decide the future of the health system.

Mr Dutton declared the system to be “riddled with inefficiency and waste” and foreshadowed changes to Medicare, with private health insurers likely to play a greater role and wealthy Australians asked to pay more for their care.

NACCHO will be reporting further outcomes from this meeting in the next 24 hours

Meanwhile in the Australian it is reported Treasury officials are working on a formula to determine whether health spending is sustainable

Tackling avoidable cost has to be at the heart of how the hospital system works : Sean Parnell From: The Australian

PUBLIC hospitals are wasting up to $1 billion a year and should be held to account for inefficient and substandard medical care, the Grattan Institute has warned.

In a report released last night, the think tank headed by long-time reform advocate Stephen Duckett has called for activity-based funding to be accompanied by measures that would reduce costs and rein in health inflation.

The institute’s report calls for states to exclude abnormally high costs from activity-based funding calculations to ensure the new average prices “drive hospital costs down towards achievable benchmarks”.

“But the reform won’t work on its own, the report concludes. “Tackling avoidable cost has to be at the heart of how the whole system works.

“Hospitals need data showing how much of their spending is avoidable and where that spending is concentrated.”

Last year, health fund Bupa and private hospital operator Healthscope entered into an Australian-first, quality-based funding system.

Under the arrangements Healthscope forgoes payment from the insurer if it makes a serious mistake treating any of its 3.5 million members, with reward payments likely to be considered in future for above-standard care.

Mr Dutton at the time welcomed the arrangements and said he expected providers to be more transparent and release data on avoidable costs.

“If we can bring that pressure to bear on both the public and private systems, we will end up with better health outcomes,” he said last October.

Mr Dutton has not taken the issue further and the so-called “budget emergency” has put any intergovernmental health reform talks on hold.

Treasury officials are working on a formula to determine whether health spending is sustainable.

NACCHO Chair JUSTIN MOHAMED will be telling the  Coalition Government at the NACCHO SUMMT  Investing in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health makes economic sense

summit-2014-banner

The importance of our NACCHO member Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHS) is not fully recognised by governments.

The economic benefits of ACCHS has not been recognised at all.

We provide employment, income and a range of broader community benefits that mainstream health services and mainstream labour markets do not. ACCHS need more financial support from government, to provide not only quality health and wellbeing services to communities, but jobs, income and broader community economic benefits.

A good way of demonstrating how economically valuable ACCHS are is to showcase our success at a national summit.

SUMMIT WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO

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NACCHO Aboriginal health news : How will Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash fix the regional doctor shortage in 2014 ?

Fiona Nash

“You don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but we also need to look with fresh eyes at why aren’t we getting more allied health professionals and doctors in regional areas, and what can be done better.”

Assistant Health Minister Senator Fiona Nash (BIO and contact details below)

FIXING the broken incentive scheme for doctors to come to regional Australia will be the top priority for Assistant Health Minister Senator Fiona Nash this year.

The Abbott Government’s minister responsible for rural and regional health, Sen Nash said fixing the geographical classification system that governs incentives to encourage doctors to leave the city was the most important issue facing rural health this year.

Exclusive South Burnett Times

The Australian Standard Geographical Classification – Remoteness Area (ASGC-RA) effectively decides whether doctors can access payments from $2500 a year to move to an inner regional area up to $13,000 for working in a very remote area

But long-standing problems have dogged the system since it was introduced in 2001, because it pays the same rates to doctors working in some major regional cities as those in some smaller, more remote towns.

“The previous (Howard) government put in place the incentives program to help ensure doctors move to regional areas, but it actually pays the same incentives for doctors to go to a town of 2000 to those who might move to a major town of 60,000,” Sen Nash said.

“Addressing that and other regional workforce issues and how to improve the incentive scheme is my priority this year.”

While Sen Nash was part of a Senate inquiry last year that closely examined the issue, she said she would not be rushing to meet a deadline this year – instead focussing on “getting it right”.

“What we have after many years of not enough doctors in Australia, is we now have enough, but the problem for rural and regional areas is we have a maldistribution, they largely reside in the cities, but it’s my target that by the end we will be able to say there are better outcomes for rural health,” Sen Nash said.

“You don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but we also need to look with fresh eyes at why aren’t we getting more allied health professionals and doctors in regional areas, and what can be done better.”

Sen Nash said she would also be focused on improving mental health, nutrition and food labelling as chair of the Food Ministers Council.

BIO and contact details Senator the Hon Fiona Nash

Assistant Minister for Health

Minister Nash was first elected to the Senate for the NSW Nationals at the 2004 Federal Election, and was re-elected in 2010.Prior to becoming Assistant Minister for Health, Senator Nash held a range of Parliamentary and Senate Committee positions.

In 2007 she was appointed Party Whip and in 2008, was elected Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate. Also in 2008, Minister Nash was appointed as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources and Conservation, and in 2010 became Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education.

In her role as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education, Minister Nash led a successful campaign to make the independent youth allowance criteria fair for thousands of students living in inner regional areas.
In the Senate, Senator Nash chaired the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Senate committee from 2008 – 2010, heading up inquiries on issues such as biosecurity, grains, BSE-affected meat and regional education.

As a resident and representative of regional Australia, Minister Nash has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by people living outside metropolitan Australia.
Minister Nash and her husband, David, have two sons, William and Henry, and operate a mixed farm near Young in south west NSW.

HAVE You checked out the NACCHO APP HERE ?

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DOWNLOAD links here

The NACCHO App contains a geo locator, which will help you find the nearest Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation in your area and automatically creates a number to call .

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