Editorial

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Welcome to the May 2012 homepage edition of i2P-Information to Pharmacists. Rollo Manning has been having some time out having staples removed from the site of his open heart surgery.He is now at home recuperating in Darwin, having arrived home last Friday, beating a cold and hasty retreat from Canberra.We all wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully, he will be fit enough to contribute by next month.
This month, Pharmedia discusses the toll that is taken when someone complains about you to an authority without good cause. Well, the good news is that you can now take action to protect yourself if such a complaint is made, and that may even include action for defamation. Read about a recent case involving two doctors, with Mark Coleman drawing on personal experience to illustrate.

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Government GP Investment needs to be balanced

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Editing and Researching news and stories about global and local Pharmacy Issues

The Rudd Government will invest $632 million to train a record number of doctors - to tackle doctor shortages, expand capacity and deliver better health and better hospitals, the Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon has announced.
In total, the Rudd Government’s investments will deliver an additional 5,500 new or training General Practitioners, 680 medical specialists, and 5,400 Prevocational General Practice Placements Program (PGPPP) training places over the next ten years.

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The Rudd Government is:

* doubling the number of places available for medical graduates to train to become a General Practitioner from 600 when the government took office to 1,200 a year by 2014;

* more than doubling the current number of places available for medical graduates to undertake training to become specialist doctors in private, community and rural settings from 360 to 900 by 2014;

* doubling the number of places available for junior doctors to experience a career in general practice before they become a fully fledged doctor to 975 places a year by 2013.

These major investments will meet projected shortfalls, and help reduce pressure on hospitals by improving access and availability of GP and specialist services.

This announcement will build on the Commonwealth’s commitment to permanently fund 60% of teaching and research in Australia's public hospital systems, as part of the new funding arrangements under the National Health and Hospital Network.

The Government’s announcement of a substantial boost in GP training places, specialist training places and pre-vocational general practice placements for medical graduates is a welcome development, but other health professions need similar support, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia says.

National President of the PSA, Warwick Plunkett, said that in moving to the Government’s preferred primary health-care team model, it was important the difficulties facing the other professions in the primary health-care team were also recognised and acted upon.

“The decision to boost the ranks of doctors and encourage people to become GPs is a very positive first step in improving the health-care scheme and indeed in implementing the health-care reforms which are the basis of the Government’s agenda,” Mr Plunkett said.

“But other professions, like pharmacy, which are similarly pivotal to the primary health-care team, must not be forgotten.

“There also needs to be a focus given to the needs of these professions so that the effectiveness and sustainability of the primary health-care team model is assured.

“Pharmacy, for example, needs additional Government support to not only attract pharmacists to rural and regional areas but also to ensure that when they get there they are able to operate effectively in the best interests of health consumers.

“The very unique needs of pharmacists in these areas must be recognised and acted upon by the Government.”

Mr Plunkett said there were other areas which the Government needed to address, including facilitating clinical placements for pharmacists.

“We need to take action now so that all health professions are properly equipped to assist in the implementation of the Government’s health reform initiatives and to improve health outcomes for our patients.”

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